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Official Number
69716 |
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Official Number
69716 |
The Blencathra was an iron barque built by the Whitehaven Shipbuilding Company at Whitehaven in August 1874.
From the Scotsman newspaper, 12th March 1875, page 6 :
" This vessel, which went ashore at King's Island on February 3d, was given up by the owners, and her cargo was also thrown upon the underwriters. The Blencathra was a vessel of 890 tons; she sailed from Glasgow for Sydney, New South Wales, on the 28th of October. She was new, being built in the end of last year by the Whitehaven Shipbuilding Company, Whitehaven, for G.nelson & Co., of that port. the Blencathra came round to the Clyde and took on board a large general cargo, valued at £50,0000. The cotton goods were set down as worth £15,000, woolens at £7500, linens and jute at £3000; haberdashery, £9500; spirits and beer, £5000; and iron goods at £6000. A telegram received by the Glasgow underwriters states that the ship and cargo have been sold, and realised £12,300. The vessel alone cost £5000 more than the sum realised for ship and cargo, and the loss sustained by the underwriters from this wreck will be about £60,000. "The Blencathra was wrecked at Currie harbour, King Island, midway between Tasmania and the Australian mainland, on the 3rd February1875 (it was her maiden voyage). She was a carrying a general cargo from Glasgow for Sydney, under Capt.Nicholas and with 20 crew and 1 passenger [all survived]. The master mistook Cape Wickham light for the Cape Otway light, then struck a reef near Currie harbour. The barque could not be refloated, but the cargo was salvaged. At the time the Blencathra was owned by G.Nelson & Co., probably her original owners.
The wreck site is 50m offshore in 3 to 6m water.
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