The Argument was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

 wrecked in 1809.

In March 1809, three ships, the Argument, the Experiment and the Hazard

Hazard (ship)

The Hazard was an Australian sloop wrecked in 1809.In March 1809, three ships, the Argument, the Experiment and the Hazard left Pittwater, New South Wales, bound for Sydney with a cargo of wheat. A squall arose and the Hazard was driven onto Box Head, two miles north of Barrenjoey, New South Wales...

left Pittwater

Pittwater

Pittwater is a body of water extending south from Broken Bay, New South Wales, Australia parallel to the coast.The waterway was surveyed by crew members of HMS Sirius in 1788, and named Pitt Water after British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, bound for Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 with a cargo of wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

. A squall

Squall

A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed which is usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to an increase in the sustained winds over a short time interval, as there may be higher gusts during a squall event...

 arose and the master of the Argument, Bejamin Pate, watched as the Hazard was driven ashore and wrecked. Deciding to avoid a similar fate he attempted to run for Broken Bay

Broken Bay

Broken Bay is a large inlet of the Pacific Ocean located about 50 km north of Sydney on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, and is the first major bay north of Sydney's Port Jackson.- Geography :...

 but missed the entrance and struck Short Reef. Benjamin Pate, his hand, James Dicey, and a passenger, Mary Kirk, were all drowned.

The Argument was a sloop of some 8 tons, built in Sydney and registered on 8 October 1800.