The vessel
Carlisle Castle was built of iron to Lloyd's A1 specification.
The vessel had two decks and one collision bulkhead. It was initially built
as a fully-rigged ship with a forecastle of 12.8 metres and a bar keel of
23 metres. It was converted to a barque rig when sold to J. Robertson in
18934 (Sledge, 1984).
Carlisle Castle was among the ships expected to arrive in Fremantle
in early July 1899. It was under the command of Captain Lindsay and carrying
a cargo of railway irons, water-pipes, house bricks, cloth, wines, spirits,
ale and various groceries. Also on board were 2 365 locking bars consigned
to Messrs G. and C. Hoskins of Midland Junction, contractors of pipes required
for the Goldfields Water Scheme. The estimated value of the cargo was between
£40 000 and £50 000.
On 11 July, a force ten westerly storm swept Fremantle which resulted
in the wreck of a number of small coastal craft, as well as City of York.
The conditions at the time were described as treacherous. There were various
reports from Rockingham that wreckage was washing ashore on Penguin Island.
It became apparent that there were two wrecks, one of which had occurred
closer to Rottnest Island (City of York). After arranging for the
survivors of this shipwreck to be picked up off the vessel, the harbour-master,
Russell, set off to investigate the other vessel (Cairns & Henderson,
1995:290).
The wreck event
Russell could see no names on the spars and rigging that floated on Coventry
Reef, but a number of masts and spars were visible above the water-line
on the westward end of the reef.
Nothing is known precisely of the sequence of events that led to the
wreck but it has been suggested that Captain Lindsay could not get a reliable
sun or star fix on the Tuesday owing to the bad weather conditions. It is
unlikely that he would have been able to take soundings for the same reason.
Unable to see the Rottnest Island light he probably had the vessel lay-to
on the port tack to wait for daybreak. The break of Coventry Reef was probably
not noticed in the inclement conditions and Carlisle Castle may well
have drifted and struck on its starboard side (Cairns & Henderson, 1995:290).
On inspection, Russell surmised that the vessel had sunk immediately
and that all hands had gone down with the vessel. With such a heavy cargo
of railway iron in the hold the vessel would probably have gone down too
quickly for the crew to escape. The exact number of casualties is not known,
although the crew would have numbered between 24 and 26 given the size of
the vessel (Cairns & Henderson, 1995:290). Only seven bodies were found.
Salvage
Salvage parties began collecting and selling the wreckage, including
such items as soap and spirits. The hull and cargo were sold to Mr Bloom
who represented a Perth syndicate. The hazards associated with the salvage
of a vessel in such a location were reflected in the prices of £21
for the cargo and £5 for the hull. The purchasers were able to employ
a diver, however, and he removed a large quantity of material from the wreck
site. By April 1900 the Carlisle Castle Salvage Company had salvaged about
£5 000 worth of goods although only £2 100 of it had been sold
at this time. |
Site location
The wreck site rests on the western side of Coventry Reef, at the northern
end, 6.4 kilometres south-west of Rockingham and 3.2 kilometres west of
Penguin Island.
Site description
The site lies in approximately 7.5 metres of water on an exposed rock
bottom along a north-west to south-east axis, with the stern just below
the water-line and the bow pointing out into deeper water. Iron railway
lines are found at the aft end of the vessel, water pipes amidships and
house bricks in the bow.
The wreckage is spread over an area of 50 metres by 50 metres, with large
and small sections of hull plating on iron frames lying flattened against
the sea-bed at all angles. In several places, sections of the hull lie broken
on the reef top. There is an anchor with the flukes concealed under plating,
but the shank and iron stock (in the set position) stand up from the sea-bed.
A smaller anchor stands nearby, but this lies flat with its stock in the
stowage position. No chain was attached to either anchor. This evidence
may suggest that there was no time to deploy anchors during the wrecking.
A wreck site inspection in 1985 recorded that green bottles and cobalt
blue bottles were freshly uncovered from between the frames, indicating
that looting had recently taken place. The majority of the wreckage was
covered in moderate to heavy marine growth.
Artefacts
An assortment of bottles was recovered from the site, inlcuding some
which had contained beverages, wine (possibly 'moselle'), pickle, castor
oil, sauce and coffee essence bottles. One porcelain cup, a brass bell together
with wooden handle and iron clapper, a wooden toy, and a brick marked 'CRAITHCRAIG'
have also been conserved for the Museum collection.
Two plaques have been placed at the site describing some of the vessel's
history.
Statement of significance
Social
The wreck of this vessel, combined with the loss of City of York,
created a double tragedy that impacted on the local community. Money was
collected for the relief of shipwreck victims and a monument was erected
at Fremantle cemetery.
References
Lubbock, B., 1922, The Blackwall frigates, Charles E. Lauriat, Boston.
1975, The colonial clippers, Brown, Son and Ferguson, Glasgow.
Sledge, S., 1984, Carlisle Castle, unpub. Wreck Inspection Report, Department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Maritime Museum, No. 81.
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