SS Ellengowan
Encyclopedia
SS Ellengowan was a schooner
rigged, single screw steamer built by Akers Mekaniske Værksted in Christiania (Oslo
) Norway
, under her original name, Nøkken. The vessel was powered by sail and a vertical direct acting steam engine. Ellengowan sank at its moorings, unmanned, during the night of 27 April 1888 in Port Darwin
and was abandoned. 103 years later, in 1991, she was discovered by divers making it the oldest known shipwreck in Darwin Harbour.
Hegermann used the Nøkken as a private yacht until it was sold to the London Missionary Society
(LMS) in 1874. The Reverend Samuel Macfarlane persuaded Miss Baxter, of Dundee, to donate £3,000
for the steamer, renaming it after her own home "Ellengowan". Macfarlane wanted the Ellengowan for missionary work in New Guinea
. Departing from Somerset
, Cape York Peninsula
, the work began with a trip to Anuapata (Port Morseby) in November 1874, to establish the first mission in New Guinea. W. G. Lawes, a missionary
with LMS, his wife and the Reverend A.W. Murray travelled on this first trip. Lawes later became the first European missionary to take-up residence in Port Morseby.
Macfarlane then organised an expedition to find the mainstream of the Fly River
, a major waterway in New Guinea, to determine if suitable land was available up-river to establish further missions. Ellengowan steamed for about 103 kilometres up a river, but it was not the Fly. Macfarlane named this river the Baxter River (also called Mai-Kassa River), after Miss Baxter. Upon the vessel's return to Somerset, Macfarlane granted leave to James Runcie, captain of the Ellengowan, to take Lawrence Hargrave
, an Australian inventor and explorer, Octavius Stone and Kendal Broadbent, both naturalists, in another (unsuccessful) attempt to find the mainstream of the Fly River and to cross the Owen Stanley Mountains. A third expedition to find the Fly River was again mounted by Macfarlane on 3 December 1875. He was accompanied by Luigi M D'Albertis
, an Italian naturalist and the police magistrate in Somerset, Lieutenant Cherster. On this occasion, the expedition was successful. The Ellengowan steamed upstream for 150 miles, establishing that the Fly was a large and navigable river. As a result, the Ellengowan was the first European vessel to sail up the Fly and Baxter rivers.
Ellengowan remained a shipwreck for four years until she was eventually raised in 1885 by Charles Stuart Copeland, who intended to use the vessel to supply camps along the Roper
and McArthur River
s. The vessel's first trip since being raised was a charter from the government to take a customs officer, Alfred Searcy, in search of Macassan perahu along the Northern Territory
coast. However, Ellengowan was so poorly repaired after its stay at the bottom of the Daly River, that upon its return to Port Darwin she was pronounced unseaworthy.
Copeland had mortgaged
the Ellengowan to Herbert H. Adcock and Richard De la Poer Beresford, who then used her as a quarantine
hulk for Chinese passengers from Hong Kong
to make up the 21 days port before being allowed to land. Being in such poor condition, the Ellengowan sank at its mooring off Channel Island, unmanned, during the night of 27 April 1888 and was abandoned.
for the enjoyment of future generations of site visitors.
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
rigged, single screw steamer built by Akers Mekaniske Værksted in Christiania (Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
) Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, under her original name, Nøkken. The vessel was powered by sail and a vertical direct acting steam engine. Ellengowan sank at its moorings, unmanned, during the night of 27 April 1888 in Port Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
and was abandoned. 103 years later, in 1991, she was discovered by divers making it the oldest known shipwreck in Darwin Harbour.
Early history
Built in 1866 by Akers Mekaniske Værksted in Christiania in Norway, Ellengowan was originally named Nøkken. She was built for Mr D. Hegermann. The vessel was 79 feet (24.08 metres) long, 15 feet (4.57m) wide, had a depth of 8 feet (2.49m) and had a gross register tonnage of 58. She was powered by sail and a vertical direct acting steam engine. Steam was supplied by a round "scotch" type boiler.Hegermann used the Nøkken as a private yacht until it was sold to the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
(LMS) in 1874. The Reverend Samuel Macfarlane persuaded Miss Baxter, of Dundee, to donate £3,000
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
for the steamer, renaming it after her own home "Ellengowan". Macfarlane wanted the Ellengowan for missionary work in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. Departing from Somerset
Somerset, Queensland
Somerset is a historical ruin of Somerset homestead, a station established by John Jardine in 1863 and is 35 km north of Bamaga on Cape York in Queensland, Australia. It is a good camping area and day trip with facilities for barbecues....
, Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
, the work began with a trip to Anuapata (Port Morseby) in November 1874, to establish the first mission in New Guinea. W. G. Lawes, a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
with LMS, his wife and the Reverend A.W. Murray travelled on this first trip. Lawes later became the first European missionary to take-up residence in Port Morseby.
Macfarlane then organised an expedition to find the mainstream of the Fly River
Fly River
The Fly at , is the second longest river, after the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. The Fly is the largest river in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its catchment, and overall ranks as the twenty-fifth largest river in the world by volume of discharge...
, a major waterway in New Guinea, to determine if suitable land was available up-river to establish further missions. Ellengowan steamed for about 103 kilometres up a river, but it was not the Fly. Macfarlane named this river the Baxter River (also called Mai-Kassa River), after Miss Baxter. Upon the vessel's return to Somerset, Macfarlane granted leave to James Runcie, captain of the Ellengowan, to take Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.- Early life :Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletcher Hargrave and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland...
, an Australian inventor and explorer, Octavius Stone and Kendal Broadbent, both naturalists, in another (unsuccessful) attempt to find the mainstream of the Fly River and to cross the Owen Stanley Mountains. A third expedition to find the Fly River was again mounted by Macfarlane on 3 December 1875. He was accompanied by Luigi M D'Albertis
Luigi D'Albertis
Luigi Maria D'Albertis was a flamboyant Italian naturalist and explorer who, in 1876, became the first person to chart the Fly River in Papua New Guinea. He took eight weeks to steam some 580 miles up the Fly River in an Australian launch, the Neva. On board as engineer was young Lawrence...
, an Italian naturalist and the police magistrate in Somerset, Lieutenant Cherster. On this occasion, the expedition was successful. The Ellengowan steamed upstream for 150 miles, establishing that the Fly was a large and navigable river. As a result, the Ellengowan was the first European vessel to sail up the Fly and Baxter rivers.
The Ellengowan in the Northern Territory
The vessel was purchased from LMS in 1881 by the Palmerston Plantation Company, managed by Mr W. Owston, to undertake supply voyages from Palmerston (Darwin) to the Daly River where a sugar plantation had been established. While operating in this role, she struck a sandbar on the Daly River and sank.Ellengowan remained a shipwreck for four years until she was eventually raised in 1885 by Charles Stuart Copeland, who intended to use the vessel to supply camps along the Roper
Roper River
The Roper River is one of the largest rivers in the Northern Territory, Australia, extending east for over 500 km to meet the sea in Limmen Bight on the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is navigable for about 145 km, until the tidal limit at Roper Bar, and forms the southern boundary of the region...
and McArthur River
McArthur River
The McArthur River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria at Port McArthur, opposite the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands. The river was named by Ludwig Leichhardt while he explored the area in 1845...
s. The vessel's first trip since being raised was a charter from the government to take a customs officer, Alfred Searcy, in search of Macassan perahu along the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
coast. However, Ellengowan was so poorly repaired after its stay at the bottom of the Daly River, that upon its return to Port Darwin she was pronounced unseaworthy.
Copeland had mortgaged
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
the Ellengowan to Herbert H. Adcock and Richard De la Poer Beresford, who then used her as a quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
hulk for Chinese passengers from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
to make up the 21 days port before being allowed to land. Being in such poor condition, the Ellengowan sank at its mooring off Channel Island, unmanned, during the night of 27 April 1888 and was abandoned.
Discovery
The Ellengowan shipwreck was discovered in 1991 by local scuba divers following the assistance of historical research conducted by Margaret Clinch. The shipwreck's discovery and identity was later verified by archaeologists from the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in 1994, making it the oldest known shipwreck in Darwin Harbour and the only known Norwegian built iron steamer in Australian waters. The shipwreck lies at a depth of approximately 14 metres, in the channel between Wickham Point and Channel Island, in Darwin Harbour's middle arm. The wreck is the largest feature to appear on a depth sounder in the area, standing about 3 metres off the harbour floor. Her exact location is given at: 12°32'28"S, 130°52'08"E. The Ellengowan is a protected shipwreck under the Northern Territory Conservation Act 1991. Visitors to the site are required not to disturb the site in any way, in an effort to preserve the remaining structure and artefactsArtifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
for the enjoyment of future generations of site visitors.
Legacy
- Ellengowan Drive, in the northern Darwin suburb of BrinkinBrinkin, Northern TerritoryBrinkin is a northern suburb of Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. It is located north of Darwin's central business district, and is home to the Casuarina campus of Charles Darwin University .-History:Brinkin is named after an Aboriginal tribe who inhabited an area to...
, was named after the ship.
Further reading
- Clark, Paul (2008). Ten Shipwrecks of the Northern Territory, Published by Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. ISBN 9780977502226