Jessie (1911)

Princess Royal Harbour

Steam tug
Jessie was built by W. Wray, Williamstown, Victoria with clinker planking, one deck, a straight stem and a round stern. The engine was built at Williamstown by George Laker or possibly Saker, and had a 14 in (35.56 cm) bore with a 14 in (35.56 cm) stroke, and was fed by a vertical boiler. Originally registered at Melbourne (No. 8/1886), the tug was sold to William Douglas of Albany during that year. Under the command of Captain McLaughton the steamer departed Melbourne for Albany on its delivery voyage on 18 September 1886. In July 1890 Douglas sold the tug to T. Place, also of Albany. On 5 November 1890 Place and another man were going out to the Jessie when the small boat they were in capsized. The two men were rescued by a boat from the schooner Ariel. Place subsequently sold the tug to Armstrong & Waters on 29 April 1892. It was at this time that the Jessie was registered at Fremantle (No. 2/1892). On 1 April 1910 the Jessie broke its moorings in Princess Royal Harbour and drifted ashore, causing damage estimated at £1 500.

THE LOSS
Some time, probably in 1911, the Jessie was abandoned in the shallow water off Lawley Park in Princess Royal Harbour. Indications are that little was stripped off the vessel before it was abandoned, as Howard L. Hartman has stated that (initially at least) the engine and boiler were left on board. A photograph dated about 1912 in Marshall (2001: 179) shows the Jessie ashore with the funnel clearly visible, so at that time the boiler was still in place.

SITE LOCATION
The remains of the Jessie have now been covered by port development in Princess Royal Harbour below Lawley Park.