History | |
---|---|
Name | Southern Cross |
Builder | Forrest & Sons in 1891 |
Fate | Wrecked in Bass Strait, September 1920 |
General characteristics | |
Tons burthen | 257 tons Old Measurement |
Length | 131 ft 4 in (40.03 m) |
Beam | 26 ft 0 in (7.92 m) |
Draught | 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m) |
Installed power | engine (prior to 1902) |
Propulsion | sail & steam (prior to 1902) |
Sail plan | Three-Mast Schooner, changed to Brigantine |
Southern Cross was a three-masted schooner originally built in 1891 for the Melanesian Mission of the Anglican Church and the Church of the Province of Melanesia, and was lost with all hands off King Island, Tasmania in 1920.
Southern Cross was built at Wivenhoe, Essex, England by Forrest & Sons using funds estimated at £9,000 contributed by Bishop John Richardson Selwyn and others.[citation needed] Originally built as a steam yacht, she underwent conversion to a barquentine rig several years later.[1]
On her maiden voyage, she was extensively damaged by a storm in the English Channel during October 1891. After repair, she left in early November and arrived in Auckland during March 1892.[2][3][4]
She was in service with the Melanesian Mission from 1892 to 1902.[citation needed] The engines were removed in 1904 prior to her sale.[5]
On 11 September 1920, Southern Cross sailed from Melbourne for Hobart with a general cargo including 1,000 cases of benzine stored on its main deck. On 22 September, a large quantity of wreckage was found on the north coast of King Island. Further searches found wreckage around the island with a concentration at the southern end. As the wreckage bore traces of burning, it was speculated that the ship's deck cargo had caught fire, or that it had struck a mine laid by the German raider Wolff in 1917.[6][7][8]
The following personnel were reportedly lost in the wrecking - Frank Rule Hodgman, master; T. Watts, mate; C.F. Makepeace, boatswain; D. Dinehy, able seaman; W. O'Connell, able seaman; L. Sward, able seaman; W. Moody, able seaman; Wm. Brown, cook & steward and Stanley Bell, cabin boy.[9]