Bee (1851/05/08)

Cape Bouvard

Bee was built at Augusta by James Woodward Turner and his youngest son, James Augustus Turner, in 1848. The Turners had arrived in Western Australia on the Warrior in 1830 and settled in Augusta. No record of the schooner’s registration has been found, though Turner had registered his previous vessel the Alpha. No dimensions are known apart from that of 17 tons burthen. A newspaper report prior to the launching of the schooner had indicated a size of 22 tons burthen:
…engaged in building a very fine little vessel of 22 tons burthen. She is nearly completed and the requisite steps will be taken to procure her registration from the Local Government during next month (Inquirer, 8 December 1847: 3b).
However in January 1849 the newspaper announcement of the arrival of the Bee at Fremantle on its maiden voyage noted the tonnage as being about 17 tons burthen. The term ‘burthen’ was, even in 1851, an old fashioned word describing the vessel’s carrying capacity, and originally referred to the number of tuns of wine that a vessel could carry in its hold.
After being twice stranded at the Vasse in 1849 and 1850 (see entry), the younger James Turner had sold his share in the Bee to John Salkild. In May 1851 the schooner was carrying a cargo consisting of five tons of flour belonging to William Pearce Clifton, three tons of potatoes and 50 bushels of barley from Thomas Salkild (John’s brother) and 100 bushels of barley from James McCourt, on a voyage to Fremantle The flour was for the Commissariat at Fremantle, the prevailing price of flour being £18 per ton. While the younger Turner was normally in command, on this voyage Thomas Salkild was acting as master.
THE LOSS
On 7 May the Bee had been attempting to approach Garden Island on its way to Fremantle. The weather being against it, the vessel was compelled to turn about and head back south. A heavy sea destroyed the binnacle, rendering the compass useless. At about 1.30 a.m. on 8 May the schooner was in the breakers off Cape Bouvard (spelt Bouvarde in the newspaper). Passing through these without striking, it went ashore on a sandy beach. Some six days later the vessel was described as ‘full of water, and perfectly whole, but from the situation in which she is placed, it is supposed she will not be again afloat’ (Inquirer, 14 May 1851: 3b).
INITIAL SALVAGE
Nearly all the flour was saved as the seawater had only penetrated a very small distance into the sacks. This would confirm that the Bee went ashore as stated in the newspaper rather than having sunk off the coast, so that salvage of the partially ruined flour was possible.
SITE LOCATION
A wreck inspection carried out by the Western Australian Museum in May 1995 on a wreck on Bouvard Reef reported that the material may have come from either the Bee or the Lass of Geraldton, both lost in this vicinity. The GPS position of the wreckage examined is 32° 50.492 S and 115° 35.166 E, almost ten miles south of Cape Bouvard. However as the newspaper report of 14 May 1851 (above) indicates that the Bee went ashore on a sandy beach, this would seem to preclude the Bee as being the wreck inspected in 1995, which was nearly three miles offshore.

Co-ordinates 5' off