The vessel
On 10 January 1875, Zedora (owned by J. Mill), under the command
of Captain Hodges and with a crew of ten, left Mauritius bound for Adelaide
with a sand ballast. By 7 February the vessel had reached latitude 37°
south. A strong squall struck the barque, shifting the ballast and throwing
the vessel on its beam ends. The crew worked for two hours to shift the
sand back into position. The next morning it was found that the pumps were
clogged and that water was washing about in the hold (Henderson & Henderson
1988:1589).
Captain Hodges decided to make for Fremantle to try and pick up a charter.
At midday on 10 February the ship's position was fixed as being 143.9 kilometres
(90 miles) west of Rottnest Island heading on a course approximately east
by north, and later it hauled further to the south, travelling at 8.5 knots
(Wells, 1988:13). At 8 p.m. the upper fore, main topsails and fore staysails
were reefed and speed was reduced to between 3.5 and 4 knots.
The wreck event
Sharp look-out was kept but no light was sighted. At 11 p.m. the mate
reported land under the lee; the lead was cast to give a reading of 25 fathoms.
A revolving light was sighted on the starboard quarter bearing north-east.
At the same time, however, broken water was seen ahead and soon the vessel
had struck a reef.
The ensuing chaos was described by the captain:
I ordered the mate to cast the lead and in doing so the lead was carried away and immediately the vessel struck aft carrying away the rudder and the wheel (which I was at at the time) and began to bump very heavily. I ordered the gig to be again lowered at once, the man on the long-boat singing out that she was sinking on the rock astern. The vessel then went over on her side, and settled down at once (John Hodges, evidence at Inquiry into the stranding of the Zedora, Fremantle, 13 February 1875, C. S. R. 813, fol. 12, quoted in Henderson & Henderson 1988:159).
After a short time Captain Hodges 'deemed it prudent for the safety of
the lives of the crew to leave the ship which they did about 2 a.m.'. Nothing
was saved from the vessel and Fremantle was reached about 8 a.m. the next
morning.
Inquiry
The captain was not charged and the preliminary inquiry stated:
We attribute the accident entirely to the Rottnest Light having not been seen from the vessel, when she must have been in the usual range of that light for two hours prior to the casualty, though a proper lookout was kept (Preliminary Inquiry, 13 February 1875, C. S. R. 813, folder 12, quoted in Henderson & Henderson, 1988:160).
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The colony's governor was not satisfied with the court findings, seeing
them as an indictment of the lighthouse keeper at Rottnest. The case went
back to court but Hodges was able to call witnesses that supported his own
testimony about the absence of the light.
Salvage
Zedora became a total wreck and was sold at auction for £160.
Numerous cargo items and ship's fittings from the vessel were sold, including
forty-three sails. Notices were issued indicating that anybody found removing
material washed up on the beaches would be prosecuted. The captain's report
on the vessel suggested that the wreck was probably in a very vulnerable
condition and breaking up on the reef. A year later a piece of timber with
the letters 'ZE' printed on it was found at Jurien Bay, 100 kilometres north.
Site location
The wreck site is located at the very edge of Hugél Passage, on
the northern end of Mewstone Reef. Although marked on the charts as one
continuous piece of reef it is in fact several inter-connected pieces.
Site description
The wreckage lies in about 8 metres of water at the base of a 3 to 4
metre rock wall which has a predominant overhang to the northern part of
the wreck. It is parallel to the reef face with the bow facing north-east,
the stern south-west. The exposed site covers 20 metres by 25 metres, lying
in part on a sand and weed bottom. Little of the wreck protrudes further
than 1 metre above the sea-bed (Wells, 1988b:15).
The remains of the keelson are clearly visible for 15 metres. This consists
of a heavy timber, 1 metre wide, with scarf joints evident, and several
securing bolts. Frames extend up on both the starboard and port sides up
to 2 metres, although sand covers all but the tops of the starboard frames.
Outer planking is evident on the port framing and covers a length of 9 to
10 metres, four planks thick each 0.25 metres wide. At the bow end an iron
knee is clearly visible (Wells, 1988b:17).
Separate from the wooden structure, 2 metres west, is located some heavily
concreted steelwork, possibly part of the bowsprit. Since the original colonial
secretary's report two things appear to have happened to the wreckage. Firstly,
the bow of the vessel and probably the whole structure have slid backwards
off the reef into deeper water. Secondly, the vessel has shifted, rotating
about 120° south (Wells, 1988b:17).
Wreck inspection reports indicate that the site is prone to swells in
any weather, visibility is often poor and winter scouring of the site occurs.
The site was subject to diver interference in the 1960s as it was thought
to be that of Lancier, several hundred metres north.
References
Wells, S., 1988b, The Zedora: a history and photographic
study, Maritime Archaeological Association of Western Australia Reports, Vol.
2, July-December 1988.
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