The Brier Holme came to a tragic end in 1904. She sailed from London for Hobart in September of that year, commanded by Captain Rich, an experienced and skilful seaman who was making his last voyage. She was three months overdue and much anxiety was being felt, when some fishermen landed on a bleak and unfrequented part of the West Coast of Tasmania. They found some jetsam on the shore in the shape of packages of cargo, marked and numbered so that they could be identified. Footprints and the remains of a rude hut also pointed to a wreck on the coast; a close search was made but no signs of the wreck or of life could be found. The fishermen then took the packages back to Hobart and they proved to be part of the cargo of the Brier Holme. Thereupon the Government sent out a steamer with a search party. The remains of the wreck were found under water, but though the bush was scoured, fires lighted and guns fired to attract attention, no survivor was discovered, and the search party returned to Hobart. Some weeks later the fishermen who had found the packages landed again on the coast and found a man, who proved to be the sole survivor out of the Brier Holme’s crew. He had been wandering about in the bush trying to find his way to the nearest habitation, first loading himself with provisions washed up from the wreck, he had tried to construct a raft across a river but without success, and he was continually compelled to return to the shore and replenish his stores. He reported that the Brier Holme arrived off the S.W. Cape of Tasmania at night during thick stormy weather and was hove to to wait for daylight. But being to the north of the Fairway having overrun her distance, she crashed on to the rocks and soon went to pieces.
The Castle Holme is now owned in Frederickstadt, Norway, and sails under the name of Estar.
Hine Bros. were not the only owners of iron clipper barques in the Australian trade. Mr. T. B. Walker had four very well-known ships—the barques Westbury, Decapolis and Lanoma and the ship Barossa; whilst Trinder, Anderson & Co. had the Barunga, Oriana, Mineru, Morialta and Kooringa.
Of the above, Walker’s Lanoma was probably the fastest. She has been credited with a run from Tasmania to the Horn in 21 days, another of 21 days from the Horn to the line, and again a third of 21 days from the line to soundings, which if they had all been on the same passage would have given her the record from Tasmania home. The Westbury and Decapolis were both good for an outward passage round about 80 days.
A year or two ago a correspondent in the “Nautical” claimed that the Decapolis went out to Launceston in 56 days on her maiden trip, at the same time he claimed a 57-day trip to Melbourne for my old ship the Commonwealth. He had, of course, got his dates wrong somewhere, as the Decapolis ran regularly to Brisbane until that trade was captured by steamers, she was then diverted to Launceston.
After the death of Mr. Walker, Decapolis was sold to the Italians and renamed Nostra Madre. Her name is on the Sailing Ship Roll of Honour, as she was torpedoed in the Mediterranean during the war.
Barossa, a fine little full-rigged ship, ran for many years as a passenger ship to Adelaide. She eventually turned turtle in dock and was sold to be broken up.
Lanoma was lost in March, 1888, on what promised to be her best passage home. She was coming up Channel, only 76 days out, in thick, blowing south-westerly weather, under a very experienced commander, Captain G. Whittingham.
Berean was also coming up Channel, it was the time when she had the narrow squeak of piling up on the Wight owing to the wrong notice about St. Catherine’s light.
In the case of Lanoma, Captain Whittingham had had no observations for several days, and so an extra smart look-out was being kept. Just before midnight it must have cleared a bit for the land suddenly loomed up close to on the starboard bow. The helm was at once put down and the ship brought to the wind, and Captain Whittingham tried to stay her. Unfortunately she missed stays and fell off again, there was no time to wear her, and she stranded broadside on to Chesil Beach, inside the Bill of Portland.
Like many another catastrophe of the same sort, the ship and her crew were hurtled from fancied security to destruction in a few minutes of time. And even so, the crew would probably have all been saved, if she had not fallen over to seaward, so that she at once began to break up in the heavy surf. The rocket apparatus was manned from the shore, but it was only in time to save a few, and Captain Whittingham and 11 of his crew were drowned.
Trinder, Anderson’s ships were all well known in the London River at one time, specially the little Mineru, a 478-ton barque, built by Stephen, of Glasgow, in 1866. Fremantle, the Ashburton River and Sharks Bay were her wool ports.
Morialta was an iron ship of 1267 tons, built in 1866 by Royden, of Liverpool, for Beazley, her first name being British Consul. Barunga was the old Apelles built in 1863, whilst Kooringa, a 1175-ton barque, built at South Shields in 1874, had been the Ravenstondale.
Messrs. Trinder, Anderson bought several other well-known ships in their time, notably the Kingdom of Saxony, a 538-ton wooden barque, ex-Deerhound. Anderson’s Darra, and Thompson’s Ascalon also ended their days under the Red Ensign with Trinder, Anderson.
It is a curious coincidence, but in looking through the list of their ships I cannot find two by the same builder, though I find the following all represented: Dudgeon, of London; Moore, of Sunderland; Denton & Gray, of Hartlepool; Scott, of Greenock; Hall, of Aberdeen; Stephen, of Glasgow; Royden, of Liverpool; Hood, of Aberdeen; Softley, of South Shields; and R. Thompson, Jun., of Sunderland.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, just before going into steam, Trinder, Anderson & Co. bought the fine ships Wasdale and Hornby Castle, but the century was not ten years old before steamers only were flying the blue with yellow cross and black swan, as the house-flag of the combined firm of Trinder, Anderson and Bethell, Gwyn.
Though this part has run to greater length than I had at first intended, nevertheless I fear that many of my readers will complain because old favourites have not been mentioned.
I have tried not to leave out any regular Colonial trader, and space only admits of the bare mention of many beautiful and fast ships which occasionally visited Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide in the course of their general round.
Of these perhaps the finest were:—Carmichael’s Golden Fleece, one of the handsomest ships ever launched, with a run from London to Sydney of 72 days to her credit.
Williamson & Milligan’s Cedric the Saxon, whose 72-day run from Liverpool to Calcutta is the iron ship record. This magnificent clipper once went from Calcutta to the Adelaide Semaphore in 28 days during the S.W. monsoon.
D. Bruce’s Dundee clippers Maulesden and Duntrune; the first famous for her wonderful passage of 69 days from Glasgow to Maryborough, Queensland, in 1882.
The beautiful Belfast ship Star of Italy, one of Corry’s Irish “Stars,” which in 1884-5 went out to Sydney in 78 days and came home in 79.
Beazley’s British Merchant, which in 1881 arrived in Melbourne, 78 days out.
The Sierra Blanca, one of those yacht-like white “Sierras,” which in 1883-4 went out to Sydney in 77 days.
Carmichael’s Argus and Argo, the former with a 76-day run to Melbourne and the latter with a 78-day run to Sydney.
Cuthbert’s Ballochmyle, Skinner’s Brodick Castle, Beazley’s John o’ Gaunt, Patton’s Hesperides, Alexander’s Glengarry, Bowring’s Othello and Desdemona, and my old ship the Commonwealth.
Then coming to the later days of the four-poster, there were McMillan’s Swanhilda, which in 1894 made the wonderful run of 66 days from Wallaroo to Queenstown; Mahon’s Oweenee, which as late as 1913 made the run from Dublin to Newcastle, N.S.W., in 73 days; Troop’s Howard D. Troop, which in 1906 brought 3500 tons of wheat from Sydney to Falmouth in 82 days; that extraordinary four-mast ship, the Lancing, which in 1908 ran from Christiania to Melbourne in 75 days; Mackay’s Wendur, the rival of Loch Torridon; the beautiful skysail yarder Queen Margaret; Carmichael’s Glaucus; and the Lord Brassey, which went missing on her first voyage, after having made a fine outward passage of 77 days to Melbourne in 1892.