''John Palmer'' was a
schooner of 37 tons (
bm) that J. & W. Jenkins constructed in
Cockle Bay,
Sydney in 1814; she was owned by D. H. Smith of Sydney, and registered there. She was wrecked with loss of life on 23 November 1819 in the
Kent Group
The Kent Group are a grouping of six granite islands located in Bass Strait, north-west of the Furneaux Group in Tasmania, Australia. Collectively, the group is comprised within the Kent Group National Park.
The islands were named Kent's Gro ...
in
Bass Strait.
In November 1819 ''John Palmer'', Captain Bastian, sailed from
Launceston to Bass Strait, Tasmania, on a sealing trip. On her way she arrived on 23 November at the site of the shipwrecked ''
Daphne
Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater.
There are several versions of the myth in whi ...
'' at East Island in the Kent Group. There ''John Palmer'' picked up three passengers from ''Daphne'', including Emma Hook, and a
lascar
A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the ...
seaman. For reasons unknown the ship also picked up a bag of coin containing 400 pounds from ''Daphne''. As ''John Palmer'' attempted to beat out of the bay she was driven onto the rocks and became a total wreck. Emma Hook drowned, but the remaining sailors and passengers made it to shore. There they awaited rescue by Captain Howard on ''
Governor Sorrell
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
''.
[''Australian Shipwrecks – vol 1 1622–1850'', Charles Bateson, AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, p.60.]
Citations
{{coord missing, Pacific Ocean
Maritime history of Australia
Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
Ships built in New South Wales
History of Tasmania
Schooners of Australia
Individual sailing vessels
Maritime incidents in 1818
1814 ships
Shipwrecks of Bass Strait