Arcadia (1900/04/25)

Hamelin Bay, 50 yds from South side Hamelin Jetty

Arcadia was built by N.S. Olsen, had one deck, two tiers of beams and had been sheathed with felt and yellow metal. The owner of the Arcadia was J.M.A. Marcussen, and the master was K.N. Halvorsen, with a crew of ten. The cargo of timber was from the Karri and Jarrah Co. Ltd.
THE LOSS
The barque Arcadia, after arriving in ballast, had taken on only part of its timber cargo when a gale from the north-west, accompanied by heavy rain, blew the vessel aground at about 9.00 a.m. on the morning of 25 April 1900. Initially heavy seas prevented communication with the vessel, which had come to rest about 50 m from the south side of the Hamelin Jetty and 200 m from the shore. No lives were lost.
The Arcadia was condemned as a wreck by the underwriters. The cargo of timber was transhipped, and the wreck of the Arcadia, with all its gear, including anchors, chains, stores, &c., was sold by auction at Hamelin Bay on 13 May 1900 for £22. The purchaser, M.C. Davies, must have refloated the wreck and presumably put it on a mooring. In the morning during the storm of 22 July in which the Katinka and Lövspring were lost and the Nor’wester stranded, the Arcadia was again driven ashore and this time became a total wreck.
This was one of the most severe storms to hit the South-West, occurring three months after the Arcadia first went ashore. There were two phases to the storm—the first phase with winds from the north-north-west on 22 July, and a second phase when winds swung round to the south-west the following day. The Arcadia was lost during the first phase of this storm.
A few hours after the Arcadia was wrecked the Nor’wester during its passage towards the shore struck it, causing considerable damage to both vessels.
INITIAL SALVAGE
The salvage of the Arcadia after its first stranding is described above. After becoming a total wreck during the second storm of 22/23 July there is no further information regarding salvage.