Enterprise (1857)

Flinders Bay

In 1802 the French sealing schooner L’Enterprise or Le Entreprize (90 tons, Captain Alexander Le Corre) suffered such severe damage in a gale off Cape Leeuwin that it was lucky to survive. It sailed to Sydney for repairs, and subsequently went sealing in Bass Strait where, on 27 October 1802, it was driven by a gale onto rocks off Southern Sister Island near Flinders Island and was wrecked. Captain Le Corre and eight of the crew were drowned. It is possible that a spar or spars, along with at least part of a name board, were either lost in the initial gale which damaged the L’Enterprise, or were carried by the currents and winds from the wreck site in Bass Strait. Perhaps it was a spar from this vessel which was later picked up and used by the crew of the Congress to make a jibboom.
Nothing is known of the loss of a vessel named Enterprise in Flinders Bay. However the log of the whaler Congress makes it quite clear that the captain was of the opinion that some mishap had occurred to a brig of that name.