The vessel
Robertina was a carvel-built wooden vessel with one and a quarter
decks. It had a square stern with a standing bowsprit and a busted female
figure-head (Henderson & Henderson, 1988:42).
On 2 November 1859, Robertina left Fremantle under the command
of Captain Davis, carrying a cargo of timber, flour and whale oil intended
for the Adelaide market. The vessel was guided out by the pilot and then
set a course back towards the land in a south-easterly direction, to make
use of the evening breeze. At 6 p.m. the chief officer Joseph Mallison took
bearings that placed Coventry Reef about 4.8 kilometres off the lee beam.
The chart aboard the vessel did not indicate any reef in its path. The topgallant
sails were taken in and orders were given for a sharp look-out to be kept.
The weather was calm and clear.
The wreck event
At 6.50 p.m. the orders were given to go about but ten minutes later
the vessel struck Murray Reef, at a distance 10 kilometres from Coventry
Reef. No breakers were visible. The lead was hove and read 3.3 metres, same
as the draft of Robertina. The vessel went down immediately, bow
first, leaving nly 1 metre of its stern above the water. The twelve crew
and seven passengers only just made it to the ship's boats before it sank.
The subsequent inquiry into the wrecking charged the captain with neglect
of duty, although he was found to be not guilty by the court. The wreck
was sold at auction for £30 along with a fair portion of the cargo.
Apparently some fittings, anchors, chain and fastenings were removed from
the site.
Site location
The wreck site is located on Murray Reef approximately 1 kilometre from
the Sisters Reef and 200 metres north-east of the Highland Forest
wreck site. |
Site description
The wreckage lies at a depth of 7 to 8 metres and is spread over an area
of 25 metres by 8 metres, on a sand bottom with reef surrounding it. The
iron structure is well concreted and there is no loose surface material
to be seen. The whole site was covered in a prolific weed growth at the
time of the last inspection (1994).
The bow of the vessel lies along a mound in the centre of the site indicating
the keelson. Previous surveys of the site have recorded bolts, pump sections,
sheathing timbers and iron knees. Most of the wreckage, including some chain,
is on the port side of the vessel possibly indicating the vessel leaned
to port during the process of wrecking. Other remains include a single,
2 metres long, iron-stocked Admiralty pattern anchor, a fish pendant for
raising anchors, a windlass barrel, sheathing and lead piping. The location
of the iron knees possibly indicate a poop-deck. Pump sections and a deck
winch barrel can also be observed in the stern end of the wreck site. Sheet
lead and copper bolts also remain (Kenderdine, 1994d:6).
The anchor dimensions are 2.5 metres in length with a distance across
the flukes of 1.5 metres. The iron cross piece does not appear in the plan
view of the site as it extends vertically up from the wreckage (Kenderdine,
1994d:6).
Artefacts
In 1988, a bell was raised from the site bearing the inscription 'ROBERTINA
1843'. The main body of the bell together with the clapper has been conserved
by the Department of Materials Conservation, Western Australian Museum.
This item was originally used by the finders of the site to identify the
wreck.
References
Kenderdine, S., 1994d, Robertina, unpub. Wreck Inspection Report, Department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Maritime Museum, No. 112.
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