''Estramina'', originally called ''Extremeña'', a two-masted

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

of 102 tons, was built at

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

, in the Spanish

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...

, now in modern-day

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, and launched on 13 October 1803. A

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Naval vessel, it was pierced for 12 guns but was armed with only four 4-pounders and carried a crew of 18. It was commanded by Lieutenant Mariano Isasbiribil, and engaged in hydrographical surveys. On 1 October 1804 it was seized from port of

Caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

in Copiapo Bay,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, by the armed merchant brig ''Harrington'', Captain William Campbell, and sailed across the Pacific into

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n waters. Campbell probably believed that war between

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and Spain, if not commenced already, was imminent. He instructed his prize crew to hide '' Extremeña'' in

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village in the Jervis Bay Territory and on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay, known as the Jervis Bay Terri ...

, which is 90 miles to the south of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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 ...

whilst he sailed to Sydney in ''Harrington'' to check on the state of relations between the two countries. When Campbell arrived in

there were no reports that Britain and Spain had been at war when he had seized ''Extremeña''. The Governor of New South Wales, Captain

Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1800 to 1806. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detai ...

RN (1800–06), hearing the Spanish vessel was hiding in Jervis Bay, ordered it to be escorted to Sydney where it was detained pending instructions from the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in London. King also wrote to the Governor of Chile to explain that ''Extremeña'' and a Spanish merchant brig ''St Francisco & St Paulo'' had been recovered. The diplomatic correspondence was dispatched on His Majesty's Colonial Cutter on 23 June 1805, but never arrived as ''Integrity'' was lost with all hands and without trace. The Governor also reported the event to William Marsden, First Secretary to the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

(1804-1807), stating that ''Extremeña'' had been under the command of Don Antonio José del Campo, which was not correct. The position of del Campo would, in the twentieth century, be called ''Extremeña''s executive officer. His signature would have appeared on documents on board and been misinterpreted by Governor King and his advisors who had a limited knowledge of Spanish. Several authors have since copied this error. Meanwhile, based on legal opinion, it was decided to sell ''Extremeña'' at

public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...

and hold the proceeds in trust until a final adjudication could be made. At the time the colonial government was in desperate need of vessels and decided to bid for the vessel itself. The auction took place on 12 June 1806 and the schooner went to the government for £2,100. It was renamed ''Estramina'' and gave excellent service for many years under government ownership. Its last commander was Joseph Ross. One of ''Estramina''s tasks was to evacuate the settlers, convicts, guards, and the like from

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

after the government in

decided to close the penal colony there. The fate of ''Estramina'' was reported by the Commandant at

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 ...

, New South Wales, Australia, on Friday 19 January 1816, as the vessel was beating out of the harbour with a strong north-east wind and ebb tide, she was obliged to come to anchor, which parted, and she drifted onto a sand bank, then broke up.

References

{{Navbox shipwrecks of New South Wales, Wreckshunter Ships of the Spanish Navy Shipwrecks of the Hunter Region Schooners of Australia Individual sailing vessels Maritime incidents in 1804 Maritime incidents in 1816 1816 in Australia 1788–1850 ships of Australia 1803 ships Merchant ships of Australia History of Newcastle, New South Wales Captured ships