Gidday amigos
There is another ship that was wrecked in the same area in 1853. Monumental city was wrecked with the loss of 37 lives. out of 91 passengers and crew. The ship was from Boston. She had only been in Australian waters 1 month.
A navigation error and unknown submerged rock. The ship was carrying over 13000 ounces of gold worth about 9 million today. In 1919 there was search for wreck and the strong room was located but nothing was found in it. The vessel was broken in two in 1853 and many of contents of ship spilled out on the sea floor. Was the gold in strong boxes taken or dropped out of the ship before she broke up.
Here is a Faded newspaper illustration of the ship below.
View attachment 1986758
Here is some of remains of the ships propeller and propeller shaft. below.
View attachment 1986759
Aboard the
Monumental City, Captain Adams and his Chief Officer had sailed the Gippsland coast just once – on their way to Melbourne a week earlier – and their charts were not the latest available. As evening approached on 14 May, between them (each blamed the other) they mistakenly thought the approaching headland was Cape Howe, rather than Ram Head 50 kilometers to its west. Each named by Captain Cook, they are not to be confused.Once abeam Ram Head, the
Monumental City changed course and steered NNE towards certain destruction.
It was alleged that Adams and his Chief were warned by passengers who knew the waters that they were too close to land, but sure of their position, they ignored the warnings. They would deny having received them and also deny that the Chief Officer, when earlier bearing off to the East after seeing surf, had said “that’s the way to do it, get into white water and then get out again.”
The American steamer Monumental City was one of the first screw steamers to cross the Pacific, attracted by the Victorian gold rush. It had previously been involved in the Californian gold rush carrying passengers from Nicaragua to San Francisco as they crossed the American continent from Europe and the east coast of America. The surviving engine parts and propellor are significant as they represent a transition phase from wooden hulled steamships to iron screw steamships, and a phase of rapid development in marine steam engine technology. It is also rare as at the time most American steamships were paddle steamers. It had a short career on the Australian coast, being wrecked on Tullaberga Island after only one month in service. Thirty seven lives were lost in the disaster, of whom 35 were passengers including its owner, and it led to the building of the Gabo Island lighthouse.
35 Passengers and 2 seamen Cabin Passengers who died: J.M. McKenzie Wilson Urie Capt Whyte Amelia Lee J.C Jackson D Lawrence. Steerage Passengers Who died: Mr O'Gorman Offord B. Ellingrod Johnson C H Robando(sp?) Mr Niblock Mrs Niblock child Niblock R Shephard C Hopcroft (sp.?) Evans (female) Stokes Thomson Riley Smith Jezzey Robinson Jackson Miles Wilkinson Light Wilson white Brown Black Scott Tiley
The sea floor where the wreck lies is detailed below.
he remains of the 'Monumental city' lie in a series of sandy gullies between large boulders and outcrops of flat limestone reef. there is very little remaining of the hull which considering the environmental conditions and the fact that it was wood is not surprising. No small artifacts were seen and considering the depredations of professional salvage divers, abalone divers and sports divers this is again not surprising.
the propeller and shaft are approximately 50m due S of the SE corner of Tullaberga Island. The 4 bladed cast iron propellers are 11m of the propeller shaft, including the stern bush, shaft couplings and plummer block, were cleared of kelp and photographed; the prop shaft is complete as far as the main bearing. The prop shaft lies in 5m of water pointing towards 40 magnetic. Near the main bearing end of the shaft (3m @240 mag) there is an almost complete cylinder with its associated steam trunnion, exhaust trunnion, piston rod, tail rod and air pumps. Throughout this area are the remains of the vessel's oscillating engines.
To the NW of the cylinder (11.6m @ 310 mag) a handing knee, iron ballast, an iron plate and hawse pipe were seen. To the NE of the hanging knee (20m @ 070 mag) one of the anchors, probably a stream anchor, with a fluke missing was seen with a chain leading off to the NE. (Dimensions are: stream-shank 2.6m, bill to bill 1.1m, palm 0.5 by 0.25m) Further to the NE (23m @ 050 mag) two more anchors were visible in around 1m of water one is a large bower anchor and the second is probably a kedge anchor. Both are missing the stock and the bower anchor is attached by two shackles to a length of chain. (Dimensions are: Bower-shank 3.2m, bill to bill 2.0m, palm 0.6 by 0.65m. Kedge-shank 2.0m bill to bill 1.6m, palm 0.4 by 0.5m) Throughout the gullies iron sections were visible and occasionally small broken copper alloy artifacts and some fragments of white porcelain were seen. The whole area is covered with thick kelp often obscuring the wreck remains. Sea bottom is flat limestone reef interspersed with sandy gullies. Wreck remains are in 1-5m of water and visibility was between 5-10m. Sea conditions open to SW through to SE with large swell and surge. Even on the best day there is a 1m swell on this site.
It is quite possible more derbies from the ship after it broke in two drifted with pieces of the wooden hull braking apart still contents like heavy strong boxes falling into sandy gullies where over time sand has covered them.
Crow
