Citizen of London (1880/08/20)

Bunbury Koombana Bay

Length: 59 ft (18 m) (Dickson, 1996)/57.1 ft (17.4 m) (McKenna, 1959, Henderson, 1988, Parsons, 1971)
Breadth: 15.68 ft (4.8 m) (Dickson, 1996)/18.7 ft (5.7 m) (McKenna, 1959, Henderson, 1988)
The Citizen of London was built by George Payne, and had one deck and a counter stern. It was owned by the builder (32 shares) and his son, Arthur Lewin Payne (32 shares). The vessel was built on George Payne’s property near Capel, disassembled and transported by horse and wagon to the Vasse property of James Forrest, where it was reassembled and launched. The schooner was under the command of Arthur Payne, even though he did not have a master’s certificate. The Citizen of London carried cargoes to ports between Augusta and Geraldton but was not insured.
THE LOSS
On 20 August 1880 the Citizen of London was taking on sandalwood at the Bunbury Jetty under the supervision of George Payne. However, a strong surge was making loading difficult. When it had taken on about 20 tonnes of sandalwood the vessel was thrown with extra force against the jetty. A rope fender was cut in two and some of the planks below the waterline were stove in (West Australian (Supplement), 31 August 1880: 2a). The schooner was hove from the jetty and, using the dinghy, attempts were made to stop the leak by fothering with blankets. When this proved unsuccessful because the rush of water into the hull carried the blankets with it, the crew used the flying jib in the same manner. However this was also sucked in by the rush of water. Payne then got sail on and sailed the Citizen of London, with five feet of water in the hold, onto the beach about two miles north of the jetty. Lines were taken from the mastheads to the shore to prevent the vessel from rolling.
INQUIRY
The master of the Citizen of London was censured at the subsequent Court of Inquiry for showing lack of judgement in not warping his schooner up alongside the jetty until it grounded. The court considered that by running it ashore Payne had exposed the vessel to becoming a wreck on the beach in the event of any subsequent gales.
INITIAL SALVAGE
On 21 August 1880, despite considerable surf on the beach, the crew discharged the cargo of sandalwood from the Citizen of London, and shifted the now lightened vessel 5–6 m further in towards the beach. Some nineteen months later in early May 1882 a report stated that repairs had been made to the damaged hull, and that the Citizen of London had been shifted from its position on the north beach preparatory to its being refloated and taken to Lockeville for final repairs. Despite this report it was not salvaged, but abandoned and eventually broken up using explosives.
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
TECHNICAL (2)
The builder of the Citizen of London, George Payne, was a carpenter and joiner but not a boat builder. In essence he prefabricated this fairly large schooner. Its loss would appear to have been caused by the inexperience of the crew rather than any weakness in the construction.
SOCIAL (3)
George Payne had arrived in the Parkfield in 1841 as part of the Australind enterprise, and family tradition has it that he was always proud of having been a citizen of the city of London, hence his naming of the schooner.
REFERENCES
Busselton Oral History Group, 2005, Reflections of the Jetty: The Story of Busselton Jetty. Self published.
Dickson, R., 1998, They Kept this State Afloat: Shipbuilders, Boatbuilders and Shipwrights of Western Australia 1829–1929. Hesperian Press, Victoria Park.
Henderson, G. & K., 1988, Unfinished Voyages: Western Australian Shipwrecks 1851–1880. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands.
McKenna, R., 1959, Vessels registered with the British Register of Ships at the Port of Fremantle, WA. Unpublished manuscript, McKenna Collection, Western Australian Museum.
Parsons, R., 1971, Ships Registered at Fremantle before 1900. Self published, Lobethal, S.A.
The West Australian, Supplement 31 August 1880: 2a.
Co-ordinates 20' off