AMAZON Wreck News – Astounding!
From Jackie Watts at the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network
Image-Antony Perri
But First Some Background
The Melbourne Argus newspaper reported the loss of the Jersey-built barque AMAZON near Cape Paterson and the despatch of HMCS Victoria to rescue the crew in late December 1863. According to the newspaper accounts, the barque left Melbourne on Dec 12 1863 bound for Mauritius with a cargo of salted meats. During the night a gale blew up from the south, the sails were reefed and the vessel hove to. Despite all attempts the AMAZON started to drift leeward towards the shore. On the morning of the 15 December 1863 the vessel came ashore on a sandy beach, close to some cliffs one mile south west of Andersons Inlet. The fore and main masts were cut away to prevent the vessel from breaking up. The crew got ashore and set up camp. The wreck was discovered eight days later by a Mr Heales on his way to Melbourne to spend Christmas with his family. HMCS VICTORIA was despatched to rescue the crew. The vessel was put up for auction on 31 December 1863. The location was given as one mile south west of Andersons inlet and eight miles east of Cape Paterson, lying broadside to the beach and buried to a depth of nine feet in the sand. The water in the hull was level with the lower deck beams.
AMAZON is archaeologically significant as a rare example of an international wooden trading ship from the mid-19th century. AMAZON is historically significant for its contribution to Victoria’s economy in the 1800s and has the potential to shed light on meat packing and transporting practices from that time. AMAZON is a representative example of mid-19th century wooden cargo carriers and while Victoria has a number of iron and steel international cargo carrying shipwrecks, AMAZON is rare as the only wooden vessel of this type so far located in Victorian waters.
From the MMHN
“The first day of Spring was the start of an exceptionally eventful month for the AMAZON shipwreck. 1st September was the start of the big swells revealing as much of the AMAZON shipwreck we have seen in the past. There was little indication of what was to come over the next few weeks. The swell was so high that the treacherous, unrelenting waves were smashing onto the coast providing no access to the foreshore. In fact, the foreshore was disappearing and retreating. The AMAZON wreckage was swept 60 metres to the east where it settled but over the next few weeks, in the bed of the eastern outlet of Wreck Creek it ‘slid’ a further 7 metres where it is now partially imbedded.”
Cyclonic conditions battered the Inverloch Surf Beach eroding everything in the path of the huge swell. Our friends at Heritage Victoria, maritime archaeologists Danielle and Liam were on the scene at 5.30am on 2/9/2024 to make the most of the low tide and to undertake photogrammetry on the AMAZON shipwreck site. It is estimated that this view of the wreck may not have been seen for at least 75 years!
Antony Perri, SWS correspondent and Inverloch resident, reports that there are a few interesting details.
The picture below shows the staunchions, beam shelf and a moulded section above the deck timbers.
You can see the tree nails holding planks and bronze rod fastening through the ribs
You can see the grown knees that would have been horizontal strengthening the deck beams near the bow. (Sorry about the dog in the shot!)