Cambria (1900/03/04)
400m from shore southwest end Garden Island
The Cambria left Fremantle at 4pm with eight crew and one passenger bound for southwest ports with a general cargo and machinery. After departing Fremantle the the ship ran into a southwest gale with heavy seas, so Captain Colstadt headed for the South Passage of Garden Island to seek shelter at Rockingham. However on reaching the South Channel at 8.30pm a heavy swell lifted the ship to leeward and it struck a reef on the southwest of Garden Island. The ship was put full astern but the propeller broke and it started taking on water. The pumps could not cope and at 10pm it filled with water and sank with the masts and funnel showing. The crew spent the night clinging to the rigging. The next day they launched the lifeboat and all of the crew, passenger Mr Reid and ship’s cat made it to a sandy beach on Garden Island. They found some old sails and rigged the lifeboat and sailed back to Fremantle arriving at 3pm. Good hopes were held out for salvage but no records have as yet been found to indicate it was successfully salvaged. Fremantle Water Police Constable Clarke visited the wreck site in the tug Dunskey on 5 March and reported the site lying in 14ft of water and cargo washing up on Garden Island.
Captain Colstadt's certificate was suspended for six months.
Ship Built
Owner James Cornish, Port of Bunbury, timber merchant
Master Charles Coalstead (Colstadt)
Builder William Mollison, Emu Point, Tasmania
Country Built TAS
Port Built Emu Point
Port Registered Fremantle
When Built 1885
Ship Lost
Grouped Region Metro
Sinking Attempted South Passage and anchor inside. Struck Reef sunk in 14 ft water W point Garden Island (numerous reefs in area)
Crew 8
When Lost 1900/03/04
Where Lost 400m from shore southwest end Garden Island
Latitude -32.2476083333
Longitude 115.683215
Port From Fremantle
Port To Bunbury
Cargo General groceries for Busselton, 86 tons groceries, kerosene, wine, beer, hardware for Bunbury, 56 tons machinery for the Imperial Jarrah Timber and Wood Farming Co., 30 tons hardware, bicycles, bran, pollard, rope and tar for Hamelin.
Ship Details
Engine screw steamer, 25 HP compound engine by Ross & Duncan, Glasgow
Length 26.10
Beam 5.50
TONA 59.00
TONB 86.00
Draft 2.20
Museum Reference
Official Number 79276
Unique Number 1288
Registration Number 3 of 1896
Sunk Code Wrecked and sunk
File Number 2010/0078/SG _MA-16/10
Chart Number 117
Protected Protected Federal
Found Y
Inspected Y
Confidential NO