Stradbroke Island was gradually severed in two in the mid 1890s with the breakthrough of the ocean at Jumpinpin. It all started with a shipwreck.
In the early morning of the 3rd Septemember, 1894, the barque, Cambus Wallace ran aground in the heavy seas near the narrow isthmus of Tuleen. Some of the crew managed to make it to shore, but five men drowned.
The hatches broke open as the tide rose and tons of cargo washed overboard. The vessel was carrrying whiskey, beer and cases of explosives consigned to Thomas Brown and Websters, general merchants in Brisbane.
Assistance came from Southport residents and families living at the island's oyster camp at Currigee. Custom officers and the Police from Brisbane travelled by steamer to the wreck. After taking care of the survivors, the rescue party buried the dead on a hill between two pandanus trees.
In later weeks a salvage operation began. The explosives from the cargo were piled together and detonated. All this activity concentrated in one area, plus the storm and tide action, weakened and later eroded the sand dunes along the narrow spit of land.
By the spring of 1896, the tide had divided Stradbroke Island in two. The graves and memorial to mariners from the Cambus Wallace washed away into the waters of the new Jumpinpin Bar.
Stay good and be kind to each other.
12 comments:
Wow I had no idea it was man made
The law of unintended consequences strikes again.
Makes you wonder what would have been if man hadn't had yet another accident where nature paid the price.
Awesome. That's like how the yanks couldn't figure out how to remove a large whale carcass off a beach. They blew it up lmao. There's video on Youtube. The Law of unintended consequence came into play with the town being sprayed with whale meat and stinking to high heaven for days after. lol
I knew they were once one, but didn't know the story. What a great yarn, Al. Thanks.
(Nearly as good as the Guyundah story!)
There is a sidebar to this story.
It would appear that the "good citizens" who came to the rescue were not so good. Before the Police and Customs arrived the rescuers had grabbed a fair portion of the Whiskey and buried it on the Island. They recovered their booty after the Officials had left the area.
Fair compensation for rescuing the crew?
Absolutely.
Call it salvage rights!
Thanks BBA, I had no clue about the island/s.
I figured the citizens' motives weren't all that altruistic-a lot of coastal communities here in the States did all right by 'salvaging' cargo from shipwrecks.
A good story about some local history!
I only learnt of that two years ago on the fishing show at BC. Great yarn.
That's bloody good there my man, Very Interesting. I can say, I HAVE, been out Jumpinpin, that bar is WICKED, went for a bl;ast in the EX brother in laws boat. If memory serves me correctly, later on in the dark we run aground at warp ten somewhere along that stretch, EVRYTHING THING and EVERYBODY, all face planted into the front section of the boat. Seems, our NAV officer had us on the WRONG FUCKING SIDE of the lights or something at LOW TIDE.. Pretty god dam exciting at the time, and a nice strip of water as well.
Thank you one and all.
Nat, good to hear your sultry typing again.
Jumpinpin Bar is treacherous. It is a sand bar that moves. You have to "read the bar" on the way out and when you return because it will not be the same.
Another Moreton Bay mystery in the next post.
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Arrgh!Speak up or hang from the yard arm. Arrgh!