Hansen, aged 34, lived in Marble Bar, and had purchased the Toba for use in the fishing industry, basing the vessel mainly in Fremantle. The four crewmen on this trip were named Martinsen (skipper), Hansen (almost certainly a brother of the owner), Landhurst and Jarlburg. They had been fishing in the Albany area, and had been away from Fremantle for about two weeks before returning to that port with a cargo of fish.
TOBA KETCH
TOBA Ketch anchored in unknown Bay.
Description
small 40foot Ketch used as for fishing, with one deck, straight stem and a counter stern.
Construction
Timber
Size
Tons 17.56 gross, 14.81 net Length: 39.9 ft (12.2 m) Breadth: 12.85 ft (3.92 m) Depth: 6.45 ft (1.97 m)
Built
1907 Dutch East Indies, by the Celebes Trading Company at the Aru Islands in the eastern part of what is now Indonesia,
Owner
The joint owners of the vessel, and partners in the company, were James V. Clark, Robert Philp, Percival Pitman Outridge, Isabella Mitchell Campbell, all of Queensland, and one Western Australian, James Theodore Clewett McKenzie, from Broome.
Sunk
1933 15 December
Location
the Toba lies very close to Peak Island, where it had presumably struck
Latitude/Longitude
(−34.216667, 115.021255)
Sinking
A newspaper reported that the Toba had run ashore on Hamelin Island at about 8.00 p.m. on 15 December 1933, and had sunk in 20 ft (6.1 m) of water (West Australian 18 December 1933: 19c). This report appears to be in error as the wreck of the Toba lies very close to Peak Island, where it had presumably struck. The four men were picked up by a small fishing boat from Bunbury which landed them on the mainland at Hamelin Bay.
Underwater
The Toba is a very small wreck located on the south side of Peak Island less than a kilometre from the Hamelin Bay boat ramp. It is located in 7 metres of water and the site covers only about 10 metres by 5 metres right up against the reef shelf into shallow water. Although the site is not large the surrounding overhands and hard corals around Peak Island make the site a nice and easy dive.
Gallery
Location
Videos
Video Dave Jackson Divingwawrecks
References
- Capes of Sunset. Jill & Peter Worsley and Jeremy Green Australian National Centre of Excellence for Maritime Archaeology Special Publication