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The Shipwreck
The true story of The Dunbar, the disaster that broke the colony's heart and forged a nations spirit
By Larry Writer
Published by Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 9781760879105
This is a deeply moving story about the shipwreck of ‘The Dunbar’.
‘The Dunbar’ had safely sailed on an 81 day journey from Plymouth, England, but was caught in a dreadful storm at the dead of night, just as it was about to enter Port Jackson through the heads.
20 August 1857 is a date I won’t forget after reading this story. Neither will I be able look out over the ocean at Sydney’s ‘The Gap’ on South Head, without pondering how the 122 souls lost must have felt.
Their terror and worst nightmares came to fruition as the so-called unsinkable, luxurious clipper was about to make its way into Sydney Cove.
Truly a catastrophe, one of the worst in Australia’s history, and sadly just a few days later another ship was wrecked. However, it did change the way in which ships were warned and guided into Port Jackson from then onwards.
‘The Dunbar’ was part of a fleet of ships, built by the Dunbar family, for plying the trade from England to Sydney, and other parts of the world, transporting goods and people.
Aboard the clipper, were families, emigrants, people returning from holidays in Britain and Europe, two school girls returning from Bordeaux in France to their family and, of course, the crew and the highly revered Captain James Green, who by all accounts was a true gentleman treating his crew and passengers alike.
It is quite incredible that there was only one survivor and that there was a survivor amongst all the bodies and body parts that were washed ashore or sank without trace.
There are accounts that it was a great feeding time for sharks and of one hotel owner wrestling sharks to free a body. Thanks to the tides and wash, bodies were found in Watsons Bay, Manly, Middle Head, what’s now called Balmoral Beach, as were debris from the ship, cargo, cattle and horses.
The story of the Icelandic man who helped rescue the one survivor, James Johnson, is just as interesting, as is James Johnson’s life afterwards, including that years later, he helped save others from another shipwreck near Newcastle.
Sadly, there are always treasure hunters and we find that, until the 1970s, it was a bit of a free-for-all for divers scavenging what they could. There’s a story when one of the descendants meets someone who tells him he has their family jewels but won’t part with them…
The author's style of writing makes this is one of those books you don’t want to put down - a gripping page turner with it’s harrowing tales and with good outcomes. He has also included many excerpts from many family, government and personal letters and newspaper reports which makes interesting reading.
Now that I’ve read so much about this great vessel, its passengers and crew, I’m sure others will also want to visit the National Maritime Museum to see their collection of some of the remains of ‘The Dunbar’ and visit the places and buildings named after this catastrophe.
In summary, an interesting history of Sydney that is well worth reading and including in your home library.
This is independent review, I am not paid by the publishers, so.If you
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