_-_SLV_H99.220-6.jpg) Loch Vennachar in port | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Loch Vennachar |
| Namesake | Loch Venachar |
| Owner |
|
| Operator | Glasgow Shipping Co |
| Port of registry | Glasgow |
| Builder | J&G Thomson,Dalmuir |
| Launched | 4 August 1875 |
| Maiden voyage | 9 September 1875 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | sank September 1905 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | clipper |
| Tonnage | 1,557 GRT, 1,485 NRT |
| Length | 250.1 ft (76.2 m) |
| Beam | 38.3 ft (11.7 m) |
| Sail plan | 3-mastedsquare-rigged ship |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Notes | sister ship:Loch Garry |
Loch Vennachar was an iron-hulled, three-mastedclipper ship that was built inScotland in 1875 and lost with all hands off the coast ofSouth Australia in 1905. She spent her entire career with the Glasgow Shipping Company, trading between Britain and Australia. The company was familiarly called the "Loch Line", as all of its ships were named afterScottish lochs. The ship was named afterLoch Venachar, in what was thenPerthshire.
In 1892Loch Vennachar survived being dismasted by acyclone in theIndian Ocean. In 1901 she was sunk when asteamship ran her down when at anchor in theThames Estuary. She was raised, repaired and returned to service. In 1905 she sank again offKangaroo Island.
In 1976marine archaeologists foundLoch Vennachar's wreck just off West Bay, Kangaroo Island. The CommonwealthHistoric Shipwrecks Act 1976 protects the wreck. Parts of one of her anchors were recovered in 1980 and are now preserved on Kangaroo Island.
James and George Thomson builtLoch Vennachar atDalmuir[1] on theRiver Clyde, launching her on 4 August 1875.[2] Her registered length was 250.1 ft (76.2 m), her beam was 38.3 ft (11.7 m) and the depth of her hold was 22.4 ft (6.8 m). Hertonnages were 1,557 GRT and 1,485 NRT.[3]
The Glasgow Shipping CompanyregisteredLoch Vennachar atGlasgow. Her UKofficial number was 71748 and hercode letters were PCVQ.[1][3]
The ship was first rigged with fidded royalmasts, but this proved to interfere with her stability as there was too much weight aloft. She was then given topgallant and royal masts in one with crossed royal yards over double-topgallants.[citation needed]
Loch Vennachar was always in the wool trade fromAdelaide andMelbourne to Britain. Her usual cargo was usually about 5,500 bales of wool. On voyages from Britain to Australia she carried other cargo,[4] and also passengers.[5] When sailing from Melbourne, her wool cargoes were organised by John Sanderson & Co. A book about the firm includes a painting of the ship offPort Phillip Heads.[6]
Captain Francis Wagstaff commanded her on her maiden voyage, leavingInishtrahull on 6 September 1875. Captain William Robertson succeeded him early in 1876, but died in 1878 after making two voyages in her. HerFirst Officer, James S Ozanne, was promoted to captain, and commanded her until 1884. He was succeeded by Captain William H Bennett, who retired in 1904.[7] Captain William S Hawkins commanded her on her final voyage in 1905.[8]
In June 1892 a cyclone dismasted the ship in the Indian Ocean.[9] At about 8pm on 3 June, thebarometer shoews a fall in pressure.Loch Vennachar's crew promptly shortened her sail. At dawn, about 5am, terrific head seas driven by a northeast gale hit the ship. Two large waves hit her. She rode the first and sank into the trough beyond. The second wave broke over her deck, breaking all three of her masts. With little left of her masts to steady her, the ship rolled dangerously in heavy seas.[4][8]
After nine days, the weather eased and her crew rigged aspar forward and sail on the damagedmizzen mast. After five weeks she reachedPort Louis,Mauritius. She waited there for five months for new spars. When they arrived from England, she was repaired in ten days.[4] The repairs cost £9,071. She left Port Louis in 18 November and reached Port Phillip on 22 December.Lloyd's of London awarded Captain Bennett itsLloyd's Medal for Saving Life at Sea.[8]
On 12 November 1901Loch Vennachar was anchored in the Thames Estuary offThameshaven inEssex when at about 4.15am the steamshipCato collided with her starboard bow.Loch Vennachar sank and one seaman suffered a critical head injury, but the crew launched her boats and all 30 members of her crew were saved.[10] Six of her sevenship's cats were lost. She was raised on 9 December, repaired at a cost of £17,000, and returned to service.[2][8][11]
Late in June 1905Loch Vennachar left Glasgow for Adelaide, carrying a general cargo including 20,000 bricks. On 6 September 1905Yongala overtook her about 160 nautical miles (300 km) west of theNeptune Islands and the captains exchanged "all's well" signals.[12]Yongala's captain recorded thatLoch Vennachar made a pretty sight, speeding along with her sails in full standing.[13] It was the last known sighting ofLoch Vennachar.
On 29 September, theketchAnnie Watt arrived in Adelaide and her captain reported picking up a reel of blue printing paper 18 miles northwest of Kangaroo Island. The paper was identified as part ofLoch Vennachar's cargo.[8][14] Three weeks later, the sea began delivering scraps of her cargo to the rocky coast of Kangaroo Island, which confirmed her loss. Twice the steamshipGovernor Musgrave was sent to search for the wreck and any survivors. Weeks of searching by government and local fishing boats produced only flotsam and the body of a young seaman, who was never identified. He was buried in the sand hills of West Bay.[13] The search was eventually abandoned on 12 October.[citation needed]
At the time, it was incorrectly concluded thatLoch Vennachar was wrecked on Young Rocks, a granite outcrop about 20 miles south-southwest ofCape Gantheaume, trying to make theBackstairs Passage.[8]
The first list of people likely to be on the ship at the time of her loss appeared in newspapers late in September 1905. This list, containing 23 names of people who could be either crew or passengers, was compiled from letters waiting for collection by the ship at the offices of George Wills & Co, theship's agent in Adelaide.[15] A later newspaper article advised that apprentices S.C. Brown and Robert Andrews, whose names had been included in the earlier list, had transferred fromLoch Vennachar toLoch Garry andLoch Torridon respectively.[16] Late in November 1905, the following list was published in a number of newspapers in Australia, New Zealand and Scotland. This list which "was received at Fremantle by the English mail" indicates that there were no passengers on the last voyage.[17] In the list, the abbreviations A.B. and O.S. refer respectively toable seaman andordinary seaman.
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The death of Thomas Pearce received attention in the Australian press because his father, Thomas R Pearce, was well known as one of two survivors of theLoch Ard wreck in 1878, and his step-grandfather, Captain Robert Pearce,[18] died in command ofSS Gothenburg when she was lost in 1875.[19]
The loss ofLoch Vennachar followed that ofLoch Sloy in 1899. In 1902 the Marine Board of South Australia had recommended building a lignthouse onCape du Couedic, but this was not done. The Board considered that such a lighthouse could have prevented the loss of both ships. Building began in 1907 andCape du Couedic Lighthouse was officially lit on 27 June 1909.[20][21] In 1908 the northern headland of West Bay was named Vennachar Point in the memory of the ship.[22]
In February 1976 theSociety for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) searched for the wreck off the west coast of Kangaroo Island. On 24 February conditions were unsuitable for anunderwater search, so the shore was searched at the foot of cliffs just north of West Bay. A brick with the letters"GLAS...OW" on one face was found.
On 26 February conditions were suitable forscuba diving, so three SUHR divers and two local divers searched the sea where the brick was found. They found the wreck at a depth of 12 metres (39 ft).[23][24][25] All of her anchors were still in place, which suggested that no attempt had been made to prevent her from hitting the cliff.
After lobbying by the SUHR, thePremier of South Australia,Don Dunstan, announced on 11 December 1976 that the SUHR would mount an expedition in February 1977 to study the site, for which the state government would provide ten police divers, special leave for government employees involved with the expedition, and concessional fares on the government-owned ferry,Troubridge. He also declared the area of the wreck site a historic reserve under South Australia'sAboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act 1965.[26][27][28]
In February 1977, a team of 34 people set up camp at West Bay for a stay of two weeks. Due to unsuitable diving conditions, the first week was spent diving on theFides shipwreck on the north coast of Kangaroo Island. The second week was spent at theLoch Vennachar wreck. The SUHR established the location of the wreck site in relation to the land, surveyed the wreck's bow and found its main anchors, photographically recorded the site and recovered a selection of artefacts for conservation. The expedition was funded by member contributions plus the donation of services, goods and cash from four government agencies, 35 private businesses and numerous individuals.[26][29]
The expedition's report recommended conserving one of the bower anchors. This was done in 1980. The SUHR collaborated with the state government and the Kangaroo Island Scuba Club, assisted by 23 government agencies, private organisations and individuals. On 31 March ananchor shank was recovered from the wreck, followed by itsstock the next day. Both parts were stored in the water of West Bay until the fishing boatLady Buick transferred them toKingscote in April and May 1980 respectively. They were then taken toPort Adelaide; the shank onTroubridge and the stock onHMAS Banks.
Amdel in Adelaide conserved the anchor. It was returned to Kangaroo Island where it was put on display at the Flinders Chase Homestead in theFlinders Chase National Park, with a formal ceremony on 26 March 1982 attended byDavid Wotton, the SA Minister of Environment and Planning.[30][31][32]
The wreck site has been protected by the CommonwealthHistoric Shipwrecks Act 1976 since October 1980.[33] Its location is officially recorded as35°52′48″S136°31′12″E / 35.88000°S 136.52000°E /-35.88000; 136.52000.[34] In 1980 the area protected as a historic reserve declared under theAboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act 1965 was listed on the thenRegister of the National Estate.[35] The grave of the unidentified seafarer remains at West Bay, but with a replica wooden cross as the original one made from spars from the wreckage was vandalised in the 1970s.[23][36][37] By 2006 the bower anchor had been moved from the Flinders Chase Homestead to a site next to the visitors' car park on the south side of West Bay.[37][38]
An area of the bed of the sea near West Bay, Kangaroo Island seaward of the cliff top in a circle having as its centre a point longitude 136° 32' east, latitude 35° 53' 05" south and having a radius of 250 metres.
