''Daphne'' was a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter par ...

constructed in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's most ...

that arrived in Australia in 1814. She was wrecked without loss of life on 26 October 1819 in the Kent Group in

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct water ...

. She was on a voyage from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...

to India. On August 1819, ''Daphne'', Captain Howard, sailed from Hobart for

with wheat and potatoes. ''Daphne'' departed

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

bound for India on 10 October 1819 under the command of John Howard. As she passed through Bass Strait he stopped at several islands to purchase sealskins from sealers in the area. On 26 October a gale rose and Howard sheltered in the lee of East Island. Howard went ashore, probably to find sealers. On arriving on shore he noticed that ''Daphne'' was being driven towards the rocks. He returned on board but could do little to save the brig. He therefore ordered the passengers and crew to abandon ship. The passengers made it to shore safely but ''Daphne'' was totally destroyed. The longboat was badly damaged and it took Howard and his crew some eight days to repair it. He then took his chief mate and three seamen and headed to Launceston on 4 August. Although he was blown off course, he eventually made

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

on 14 November 1819. There he chartered the sloop ''Governor Sorrell'' to rescue the eight passengers and crew remaining on East Island. Meanwhile, '' John Palmer'' arrived and took on board some of the wreck survivors and attempted to head back to Hobart. However she was wrecked too. One passenger lost her life. The survivors had to await the arrival of ''Governor Sorrel'' for their rescue. ''

Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and is ...

'' reported on 4 July 1820 based on a report from

dated 12 December 1819, that the brig ''Daphne'', Howard, master, had wrecked about 200 miles north of the Derwent. She was a total loss but her crew had been saved. Another report stated that during a voyage from

to India she was driven onto rocks off East Island, Van Diemen's Land, in the Kent Group and wrecked on 26 October 1819 and that all 13 people on board survived.

References

{{coord missing, Pacific Ocean Shipwrecks of Bass Strait Brigs of Australia Individual sailing vessels Maritime incidents in 1818 Maritime incidents in 1819