''Gustav Adolph'' was a Norwegian

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

of 757 tons built in 1879 in

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and wrecked in 1902 on the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n coast some east of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. En route from

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

to Cape Town under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Anton Gjeruldsen (1862

Barbu, Norway Barbu is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. Today, it is part of the is part of the town of Arendal in Agder county. The municipality existed from 1878 until 1902 when it was merged into the town of Arendal. The mun ...

- 1902) with a cargo of 14,000

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with rough, fibro ...

sleepers, intended for use by the burgeoning

Cape Government Railways The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910. History Private railways The first railways at the Cape were privately ow ...

, she was wrecked in a strong

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .

on 28 June 1902 just west of the

Palmiet River Palmiet River () is a river located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The Palmiet River is a typical Western Cape river, experiencing winter rainfall and it is important for the Western Cape Water Supply System. It has a small catchme ...

mouth. Two

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

were lowered; the first, carrying six crewmen, made it safely ashore while aboard the second, carrying five people, only one crewman survived. Drowned aboard the second boat were the Captain Gjeruldsen, two crewmen, and a Mr. Perkins, who was a clerk from Perth. Gjeruldsen left behind his wife Inga, 10 years his junior and from

Øyestad Øyestad is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Aust-Agder Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1992, when it was merged into the present-day municipality of Arenda ...

; a 1900 census showed that the couple were childless. The greater part of the cargo of sleepers washed ashore and was salvaged. Two crosses made from salvaged timber were erected in memory of those who lost their lives.

References

External links

Shipping history
{{1902 shipwrecks 1879 ships Ships built in Arendal Barques Tall ships of Norway Merchant ships of Norway Maritime incidents in 1902 Shipwrecks of the South African Atlantic coast