''Ellen'' (also known as SS ''Ellen'') was a

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

that was launched in 1883 and whose career involved coastal shipping firstly in the

Colony of Queensland The Colony of Queensland was a colony of the British Empire from 1859 to 1901, when it became a State in the federal Australia, Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. At its greatest extent, the colony included the present-day Queensland, ...

and then in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It was wrecked in

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...

in South Australia at Morgan's Beach near the town of Cape Jervis on Saturday, 12 December 1908 during its return from

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

in waters around

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

to a destination on the mainland.

History of vessel prior to loss

''Ellen'' was built in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

in 1883 for Messrs. Breslin and Watson for the purpose of trade from

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

to Keppel Bay and other ports within Queensland. The ship purchased several years prior to 1908 for the purpose of 'coastal work' in South Australian waters by Messrs. W. R. Cave and Co. and Co., grain merchants, shipping and Customs agents based at

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

Historical account of loss

The vessel was chartered in November 1908 for 3 months by a delegation of Scottish fishermen consisting of Messrs. W. J. Newlands, W. Eaglesham, W. Grieve and M Grieve, and who were interested in establishing a fishing business in South Australia. On Thursday, 10 December 1908, ''Ellen'' under the command of Captain A. McMillan departed from Glenelg for

with Mr Newlands, and a crew of 6. On Saturday, 12 December 1908, ''Ellen'' returned from Hog Bay on Kangaroo Island en route to a destination on the mainland with a load of fish valued at £50. ''Ellen'' encountered very rough conditions when passing Cape Jervis. The rough conditions included a sudden swing in wind direction from the South West to the North West. As a result, the ship drifted astern towards the shore until its stern run aground on the rocky seabed. The bow was then swung around onto the rocks by the waves thereby completing the wrecking. The heavy sea then continued to pound the wrecked vessel, washing fittings and timber overboard and onto the shore. The crew escaped to shore via the use of a dinghy while Mr Newlands swam to the shore. At its meeting on Wednesday, 30 December 1908 the Marine Board of South Australia found that the wrecking was caused by the inability of the ship to regain control after the sudden change in wind direction because of its insufficient engine power.

Aftermath

Despite the wrecking event and the complete loss incurred, the Scottish fishermen resolved to continue with their enterprise. In 1962, the wreck site was extensively salvaged by divers visiting from New South Wales. The Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) carried out a survey of the site in 2003. The SUHR study reveals that the principal feature of the wreck site at the time was a boiler sitting in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

.Cowan, David; (2003), 'The SS Ellen Project', ''Soundings'' (2nd series) Vol. 4 No.1, pages 8-14, in Cowan, David (editor), (2007), The Society for Underwater Historical Research: Publications 1974-2004, Society for Underwater Historical Research, Port Adelaide, SA. The wreck site is protected by the SA ''Historic Shipwrecks Act 1981'' and is located at .Ellen
.

Australian National Shipwreck Database __NOTOC__ The Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database (AUCHD) is an online, searchable database containing data on shipwrecks, aircraft that have been submerged underwater or wrecked on the shore, and other artefacts of cultural sign ...

. Retrieved 14 June 2012.

References

Further Information

The online collection of the

State Library of South Australia The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research li ...

includes the following images of the ship after its grounding: * 'The SS ''Ellen'' wrecked near Cape Jervis, South Australia, 1909' at http://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/searcy/43/PRG280_1_43_72.htm, retrieved 20 June 2012. *'Distant view of the SS ''Ellen'' wrecked near Cape Jervis in South Australia, 1909,’ at http://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/searcy/43/PRG280_1_43_73.htm, retrieved 20 June 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellen 1883 ships Iron and steel steamships of Australia Maritime incidents in 1908 Shipwrecks of South Australia Gulf St Vincent

History of vessel prior to loss

Historical account of loss

Aftermath

See also

References

Further Information