Wooden ship Umgeni, built 1864, 366 tons, State Library of South Australia, PRG-1373-19-6
Description:
Ship; two decks, a square stern, billet head and no galleries
Owner:
JB Osgood
Construction:
Wood
Sunk:
8 July 1840
Size:
Length: 110 ft (33.5 m) Beam: 28 ft (8.5 m) Depth: 13.7 ft (4.2 m) Tonnage: 372 gross
Underwater:
The Samuel Wright is now buried many metres under sand and lies under a carpark. It was first uncovered by minerals sands mining operations in 1962 and found to be standing almost upright, and lying in an approximately north-south direction. The wreck was later reburied.
Built:
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA
Location:
Koombana Bay, Bunbury
Sinking:
On 7 July the breeze freshened from the north-east in the evening, increasing and shifting north-north-east. By midnight there was a storm. The Samuel Wright rode the storm until seas were breaking over the topmast head and a chain anchor cable parted. The ship now had two anchors down but they were not sufficient to prevent it from dragging. The crew brought up another, very large anchor that was stowed below decks, but before they could secure a cable to it, the Samuel Wright struck the beach some miles north of Bunbury. The wreck was sold at auction; it was bought by the master, Francis Coffin. He leased the ship as storage. By 1842 sand had been scoured out from under the ship and its back was broken.
Longitude:
115.649211
Latitude:
-33.322233
Gallery
Wooden ship Umgeni, built 1864, 366 tons, State Library of South Australia, PRG-1373-19-6
