Maid of Lincoln (1891/04/12)

Reef 8 miles S Jurien Bay off Hill River

Steamer, schooner rigged
Maid of Lincoln was a wooden steamer built in Port Lincoln, South Australia, by Henry Crawford. It was carvel built with one deck, two masts, schooner rigged, a straight stem and a round stern. It was fitted with 12 hp engines. The first owners were William Frederick Haigh and Henry Crawford. It was brought to Fremantle in 1887 (Cairns & Henderson, 1995) or 1889 (Parsons, 1990) and mainly used for harbour work by its new owners, Symon, Hammond & Hubble.
The Maid of Lincoln was involved in an incident in October 1889 when it caught fire while at anchor in South Bay. The fire was put out before destroying the vessel, but it suffered a great deal of damage.
The Maid of Lincoln left Dongara at 4.00 p.m. on 11 April 1891 carrying a cargo of guano, under the command of Captain William Millar, intending to call at Fremantle for coal en route to Bunbury.
THE LOSS
Initially the Maid of Lincoln headed south but this was altered to south by east then later south-south-east. Captain Millar went below at 10.00?p.m. but when he returned to the deck a little after midnight he found that the helmsman had not been able to steer the ordered course. The vessel was heading south by 1/2 east, and consequently getting closer to the coast. Presuming the helmsman had a clear view, he ordered that course to be continued and the mainsail kept full. Captain Millar then went below again, but was awakened shortly after 2.00 a.m. when the steamer struck a reef. He ordered the engines to be reversed but to no avail, as the vessel was hard and fast. As the water was rising quickly the order was given to launch the ship’s boat.
The Maid of Lincoln sank before the crew were able to save any food or clothing. They landed safely at Jurien Bay, about 13 km to the north of the wreck site. Half of them had no shoes, and so remained near the beach, while the others walked to Walter Padbury’s station at Cockleshell Gully. The crew were then picked up and taken to Geraldton by horse and cart, and afterwards to Fremantle by the steamer Dolphin.
INQUIRY
Captain Millar had his certificate suspended for six months.
INITIAL SALVAGE
The steamer Dolphin, carrying the survivors from Geraldton to Fremantle, searched the wreck site as they headed south, but no trace of the Maid of Lincoln could be found.