Amy (1895/08/31)

Davies Bay, Cape Leeuwin

There appears to be no description or specifications of the Amy other than that it was a cutter. It was being used by the contractors, Davies and Wishart, during that firm’s construction of the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse. The cutter, with three crewmen on board, had departed Hamelin Bay with a load of timber on 20 August 1895. It was insured with the China Trading Company.
This vessel should not be confused with the schooner Amy stranded in 1884.
THE LOSS
A gale struck the area on 31 August 1895 and the Amy, with the three men aboard, parted its mooring and was driven out from the anchorage at Davies Bay. The crew took to the Amy’s dinghy and managed to get to St Alouarn Island where they got ashore, and were later picked up by the barque Augusta. The abandoned cutter blew out to sea and was not seen again.
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
HISTORIC (1)
Davies Bay, referred to by the newspaper, is not marked on any charts. It is presumed to have been locally named after M.C. Davies during his construction of the lighthouse, and was most probably the bay in which the Eva was wrecked in the same year (see entry), now known as Ringbolt Bay. The Eva was also being used during the construction of the lighthouse, and presumably both vessels would have used the same bay to discharge cargo.
The Amy is associated with the construction of the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, one of the most important lighthouses in Australia.
REFERENCES
The West Australian, 3 September 1895: 3b & 4 September 1895: 4g.