The Bruce (1918/03/19)

Albany, east of Town Jetty

The Bruce was built by Ernest and Charles Dunn at Berry’s Bay on the north shore of Sydney Harbour. The steamer was cutter-rigged having one deck, three bulkheads, an elliptical stern and a billet head. The engine by Moss & Duncan of Govan, Scotland, produced 25 nominal horsepower and was fed steam from a steel boiler operating at 120 lbs/sq. in.

The first owner of The Bruce was John Frederick Tasman Hassell of Albany, and it was registered at Fremantle (No. 5/1898). On 1 July 1898 it was sold to Alexander Armstrong, also of Albany. It was subsequently sold to the Alexander Armstrongs (Sr and Jr) and George Waters, as joint owners. When Armstrong (Sr) died on 21 October 1901 his son and Waters became joint owners. In 1918 the vessel was valued at £2 500 although insured for only£1 500. At this time the master was G. Robeson.

THE LOSS
The Bruce was moored alongside the hulk Margaret at the Town Jetty when soon after 8.00 p.m. the tug caught fire. The alarm was raised, but it was nearly half an hour before the fire brigade reached the scene. Flames burned through the mooring lines and the tug drifted out from the jetty, making the firemen’s efforts fruitless as the hoses could not reach the burning vessel. The tug Awhina stood by to prevent The Bruce from drifting and doing damage to other vessels. Eventually the still burning vessel was towed to the shallow water on the east side of the municipal baths, ‘and there at 10 o’clock she was still a ball of fire, although all fittings above the water-line had disappeared’ (Albany Advertiser, 20 March 1918: 3b).

SITE LOCATION
What little remains of The Bruce is buried under reclaimed land now covered by modern port developments.

INITIAL SALVAGE
N. Pannet stated in 1991 that his father had demolished The Bruce using explosives in order to recover brass fittings. Much of the resultant debris was then taken away from the site. The boiler and funnel from The Bruce were recovered and used on the steamer Silver Star. The engine appears to have been left on the beach, but the propeller was salvaged and later sold.