The vessel
The wooden hull of Diana was partly fastened with iron bolts and
sheathed in felt in yellow metal, which was replaced in 1876. There was
a raised quarter deck of 8.2 metres (27 feet). While first rigged as a barque,
the vessel was later changed to a three-masted schooner. It was built by
Owens and mastered early in 1878 by J. Davies, but at the time of wrecking
by H. Humphery. The vessel was owned by Mrs Edwards.
Diana came into Fremantle with a load of ballast from Port Natal
on 4 July 1878. The first record of the arrival was a telegram from the
harbour-master to the colonial secretary reporting that it had struck the
Parmelia Bank while sailing into Gage Roads without a pilot. The vessel
was safely got off and anchored at Owen Anchorage.
The wreck event
On the night of 15 July a severe storm drove four vessels (Clarence
Packet, Argo, Will Watch, and Myth) ashore at Fremantle
and James Service was lost with all hands on Murray Reefs. Captain
Humphery had Diana's royal yards taken down and two anchors layed
out.
I had about 97 1/2 fathoms (177 metres) chain on the starboard anchor and about 38 (69 metres) on port - in a heavy squall about 3 p.m. of 16th she parted both cables and went on the beach and has become a total wreck and been sold as such. I produce a certificate of the testing of the chain (starboard) which was a new one. The port one was the same link (Inquirer, 10 July 1878)
From the inquiry it was considered that no blame could be layed with
the captain or crew. Diana, full of water and with its back broken
was condemned as a wreck and sold at auction by Messrs L. A. Manning. The
hull was bought by Mr McCleery for £85. |
A description of the wreck written in 1973 recalls that
...there were two old ships at Owens Anchorage: the Juno [presumably the James] and the Diana - I think they were whalers. The Juno was cannibalised (Lucius Manning, notes, Western Australian Museum, quoted in Henderson & Henderson, 1988:238).
This implies that the wreck of Diana had not in fact been destroyed
and that its remains were visible above the water-line (Henderson &
Henderson, 1988:238).
Site location
This site lies adjacent to the South Fremantle Power Station and the
water outlet pipes. It is about 100 metres from the shore.
Site description
The wreck site lies partially exposed on sand bottom, with the frames
of the vessel coming off the sea-bed to just below the surface. The site
is in shallow water of about 3 metres. Iron bolts, timber planks and frames
are evident. It is subject to reburial by sand and at times the adjacent
site of the James is completely buried. The best time to view the
site is in winter when the storms can scour out the sand. There are not
sufficient remains visible to make a site plan.
References
Inquirer and Commercial News, 10 July, 1878.
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