The Adolphe was a sailing ship that was wrecked at the mouth of the
Hunter River in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia, in 1904. The ship is now the most prominent of several wrecks on what is now the
Stockton breakwall, which protects
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
harbour. The rescue of the ship's crew has gone down in local maritime history as one of the most remarkable in local waters.
Ship description and construction
''Adolphe'' was a four-masted steel
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...
built in 1902 by
Chantiers de France, Dunkerque. It was rigged with double top and topgallant sails.
Shipwreck event
On 30 September 1904, the ''Adolphe'' was being towed through the entrance of Newcastle harbour by the tugs ''Hero'' and ''Victoria'' after an 85-day voyage in ballast from
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
under the command of Captain Lucas. Heavy seas prevented the tugs from holding her, and after the tug hawser parted she was swept first on to the wreck of the ''Colonist'', then battered by waves that forced her on top of other submerged wrecks on what was then called the Oyster Bank. The lifeboat hurried to the scene and within two hours all 32 of the crew had been taken off. The northern breakwater of the entrance to the port of Newcastle was extended after the loss of the ''Adolphe''. The French consul made an official visit to Newcastle to recognise the efforts of the lifeboat crew.
When the breakwater was extended in 1906 and reached the remains of the Adolphe, her remaining two masts and
jib-boom were removed for safety reasons. She is actually resting across the remains of
SS ''Wendouree'', wrecked in 1898, and
SS ''Lindus'', lost in 1899. The location of the wreck is approximately .
Gallery
File:Adolphe 1904 SLNSW FL20702462.jpg, Adolphe sailing ship, Stockton Breakwater, Newcastle, c. 1904
File:Cawarra location.jpg, Location of Adolphe on Stockton breakwall in relation to other wrecks including that of SS Cawarra
File:Adolphe wreck1.jpg, The wreck of the Adolphe on Stockton breakwall
References
*
{{Navbox shipwrecks of New South Wales, Wreckshunter
Shipwrecks of the Hunter Region
Ships built in France
1902 ships
Maritime incidents in 1904
1901 – World War I ships of Australia
Merchant ships of Australia
Barquentines of Australia
History of Newcastle, New South Wales