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Official Number
63888 |
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Official Number
63888 |
The Geltwood was an iron barque built at the R.Williamson &
Sons shipyard at Harrington in January 1876. She was owned by John Sprott
of Harrington and was registered at Workington. She was reputedly
a sister ship of the Mallsgate and Inglewood.
Like the Mallsgate, the Geltwood was wrecked on a reef off
the Australian coast.
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For her maiden voyage the Geltwood loaded a general cargo valued
at £18,400 at Liverpool, destined for Melbourne. Under the command
of Captain F.F.Harrington she departed the Mersey on the 23rd March 1876,
though bad weather soon forced her to shelter at Holyhead for two days.
It appears that the master had his wife and daughter aboard, though accounts
vary as to the number of crew and other passengers.
In a near hurricane the Geltwood struck a reef 12 miles South of Rivioli Bay, South Australia, on the 14th June 1876. Distress signals were reported, but there was no rescue and all aboard, about 30 people, were drowned as the vessel capsized. The wreck was not reported to the police for two weeks, and in that time a number of people stole equipment and belongings that were washed ashore. Among the debris was one body, three boats (one inscribed with "Geltwood, Workington"), dead livestock and some sea chests. The wreck was subsequently sold to salvagers and divers recovered some of the cargo in 1877. The wreck is now protected and artefacts have been recovered. The anchor of the Geltwood was recovered in 1984 and is now displayed at the National Trust Museum, Millicent, South Australia. |
From the Manchester Guardian newspaper, 2nd August 1876, page 7;
" News was received in Liverpool yesterday of the loss, with all hands, of the ship Geltwood whilst on a voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne. She left the former port on the 23rd of March under the command of Captain Harrington, and the disaster is said to have taken place off the Cape of Northumberland. The Geltwood was a vessel of 1,260 tons, 215 ft.long, and 21 ft.depth of hold. She was owned by Messrs.Sprott and Fisher, of Workington, who were the owners of the Dunmail, which was lost in the Mersey last year. She was only built last January by Messrs.Williamson and Son, of Harrington. The vessel and cargo, which were insured in Glasgow and London, were valued at about £50,000. The wreck, it is stated, has been sold for £850.The following is a list of the crew:-J.J.Harrington, captain; Robert Brocklebank, first mate; J.S.Wilson, second mate; James F.Williams, carpenter; John Elwood, boatswain; Charles Maughan, steward; Robert M'Cullock, cook; Joseph R.Shaw, James Hyndes, Alfred Mitchell, Robert Williamson, Charles Cooper, John Turner, Henry Crawley, James Pardue, Edward Eccleston, James Marshall, John Cocton, John Ware, John MacDonald, Thomas Keefe, seamen; and four or five apprentices, whose names are at present unknown. A Lloyds' telegram describes the Geltwood as an emigrant ship."
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