''John Palmer'' was a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

of 37 tons ( bm) that J. & W. Jenkins constructed in Cockle Bay,

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 ...

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 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 ...

. 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''.''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