Shipwreck Databases Western Australian Museum

Mountaineer (1835/03/24)

Thistle Cove

Mountaineer was built on the River Tamar in northern Tasmania for Mungo Summerville. It was clinker built with a square stern. It had sailed from Launceston under the command of Evanson Jansen on a sealing voyage, calling at Middle Island and Long Island in the Archipelago of the Recherche, and arrived at Albany on 22 February 1835.

THE LOSS
The Mountaineer departed Albany on 14 March and sailed eastwards to continue sealing. Besides Jansen there were two crewmen, James Ward and Thilt, and five passengers. These were James Newell, his two sisters Dorothy and Mary, Mary’s husband Matthew Gill, and Mr Church-Owens. On 22 March the cutter anchored in Thistle Cove, and two days later it went ashore in a gale and was wrecked, everybody on board reaching shore safely. The Admiralty Pilot (Vol. I, 1973: 43) is very succinct in condemning the cove. ‘Thistle Cove, immediately W of Lucky Bay, is of no use as an anchorage’.

Ship Built

Owner Evanson Jansen

Country Built TAS

Port Built Tamar River, near Launceston

When Built 1832

Ship Lost

Gouped Region South-Coast

Crew 3

When Lost 1835/03/24

Where Lost Thistle Cove

Port From Albany

Cargo General

Ship Details

Engine N

Length 10.72

Beam 3.91

TONA 23.00

Draft 1.42

Museum Reference

Unique Number 1529

Sunk Code Wrecked and sunk

File Number 69/72

Protected Protected Federal

Found N

Inspected N

Confidential NO