Hereward (ship) explained

Hereward, was British clipper ship that was built in Scotland in 1877. She had an iron hull, three masts and full rig.

The ship was wrecked at Maroubra, New South Wales in 1898. Parts of the wreck survive in situ. The Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 automatically protects the wreck and its contents, as they are more than 75 years old.

Details

Robert Duncan and Company built Hereward at Port Glasgow, launching her on 14 August 1877.[1] Her registered length was her beam was and her depth was . Her tonnages were and .[2]

Her first owners were John Campbell, John Potter, John Ashton and others. They registered her at London. Her United Kingdom was official number 77010 and her code letters were RBKV.[3]

By 1896 her owners were The "Hereward" Ship Company of London, and her managers were Potter Brothers.[4] [5]

Stranding

In May 1898 Hereward was sailing from Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies to Newcastle, New South Wales to load a cargo of coal to take to South America. Her Master was Captain Poole Hickman Gore (1861–1920).

On 5 May a storm forced her aground at the north end of Maroubra Beach, Sydney.[6] All 25 crew members safely got ashore, where they reached a nearby wool scouring works.[7] [8] [9] [10]

Attempted salvage

The ship was insured for £6,000. After a few months it was sold for £550 to Mahlon Clarke Cowlishaw (1844–1900), of Cowlishaw Brothers, Sydney merchants and ship-owners,[11] who bought the wreck for salvage.[12] [13]

On 9 December 1898 it was attempted to refloat the Hereward. With the two tugs, Commodore[14] and Irresistible,[15] pulling on cables connected to the anchor, and using steam winches aboard, they got the ship into of water. However, as the ship was nearly free, a southerly gale blew up and pushed her back onto the beach, where she was battered by high seas and broken in two.[16]

Wreck and heritage

The wreck was slowly washed out to sea afterwards and by 1937 only a triangle dorsal fin was visible above sea level.[17] In 1950, Randwick Council feared of the danger that the remains posed to surfers and swimmers and had the remains blasted such that by 1967 it appeared that there was nothing left of the ship.[18]

In recent times, on various occasions, swells and sweeping currents have moved large amounts of sand on the sea floor and had exposed extensive portions of the Hereward. In March 2013 after large seas, extensive parts of her iron hull, along with mast parts were exposed more than they ever had been before. In 2013 a bronze signal cannon was recovered from the wreck and is now on display in the foyer of the Maroubra Seals Club, across the road from the beach.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

Hereward Street

Hereward Street in Maroubra is named after the ship.[25] [26]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hereward . Scottish Built Ships . Caledonian Maritime Research Trust . 31 May 2022.
  2. Book: 1878 . Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping . Lloyd's Register . HER . . 30 May 2022.
  3. Book: 1878 . Mercantile Navy List . 303 . Crew List Index Project . 30 May 2022.
  4. Book: 1896 . Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping . Sailing Vessels . Lloyd's Register . HER . . https://archive.org/details/HECROS1896SV/page/n296/mode/1up . 30 May 2022.
  5. Book: 1896 . Mercantile Navy List . 504 . Crew List Index Project . 30 May 2022.
  6. News: The Stranding of the Hereward: Marine Board Inquiry . . 13 May 1898 . 3 . . 14 February 2018.
  7. News: Wreck of the Hereward: Ashore at Maroubra Bay: A Wild Night at Sea . . 7 May 1898 . 9 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  8. News: The Mate's Story: Rockets Fired Without Avail: How the Crew Landed . The Daily Telegraph . 7 May 1898 . 9 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  9. News: The Hereward Wreck: Sunday at Maroubra Beach: Thousands of Spectators . . 10 May 1898 . 3 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  10. News: Last Week's Disastrous Gale . The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser . 14 May 1898 . 1018, 1019, 1040 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  11. News: An Australian Merchant Prince . . 21 July 1900 . 5 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  12. News: Maroubra Bay — Prospects of Floating Off The Hereward . The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser . 21 May 1898 . 1072 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  13. News: The Stranded Ship Hereward . The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser . 16 July 1898 . 150, 151 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  14. Web site: Commodore . Tyne Tugs and Tug Builders . Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust . 14 February 2018.
  15. News: A Stubborn End: Tug Irresistible Sunk . The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate . 28 August 1931 . 8 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  16. News: The Stranded Ship Hereward: Now a Complete Wreck: She Gets Out But the Big Cable Breaks . The Sydney Morning Herald . 12 December 1898 . 7 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  17. News: Hereward — Unpopular Wreck . Rutherford . RL . The Sydney Morning Herald . 13 December 1947 . 12 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  18. News: The Hereward is gone at last . . 5 December 1953 . 20 . Trove . 14 February 2018.
  19. Web site: Hereward . NSW Government Office of Environment & Heritage . 14 February 2018.
  20. Hereward Cannon . Newsletter of the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology . 43 . 2 . June 2013 . 16–18 . 14 February 2018.
  21. Web site: Maroubra Shipwreck Cannon Recovered . NSW Department of Planning and Environment . 27 March 2013 . 14 February 2018.
  22. Hereward Cannon . Seals Sayings . Maroubra Seals Sports & Community Club . 2330 . 26 February 2015 . 14 February 2018.
  23. Web site: Hereward Cannon: Handover Ceremony . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/408855775891709/1370621739715103 . 2022-02-26 . limited . Maroubra Seals Sports & Community Club . 7 December 2017 . 14 February 2018.
  24. Web site: Hereward cannon comes home . The Daily Telegraph . 19 December 2017 . 14 February 2018.
  25. Gilchrist, Catie (2015), "Maroubra", The Dictionary of Sydney, Sydney: Dictionary of Sydney Trust.
  26. Keep, Georgina (2023/2024)," Shipwrecks to Marauders", Randwick Scene, (Summer 2023/2024), pp.16-17.

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