A tragedy at sea
Islands attract ships and some of those ships are lost. There have been many shipwrecks in the seas surrounding Australia and today's blog relates to one of New South Wales' worst peace time maritime disasters – during a terrible year of such disasters - with a link to Rookwood. THE KEILAWARRA DISASTER OF 1886 In December 1886 the 784-ton steamship the Keilawarra, built in Scotland eight years prior, was heading from Sydney to Brisbane loaded with food stocks, casks of various alcoholic beverages, tobacco, paint and special cargo including two bulls and a heifer, a box of bees and two racing horses. There were also passengers and crew totalling about 80 under the command of Captain Buttrey, a man with some twenty years' service with the Australian Seam Navigation Company. Heading in the other direction was the smaller steamer the Helen Nicoll under the direction of Captain Fraser carrying far fewer passengers and crew. SS Keilawarra - NSW Department of Environment -...