SS Collaroy

Four months after extensive repairs, the ship became beached close to Pittwater Road at Collaroy on 20 January 1881.{{cite web |title=Collaroy paddle-steamer; 356t. [1853-1884] four-masted barkentine [1885-1889]|access-date= 31 March 2018|work =|last= Ross Beattie|url=http://www.rnbt.id.au/vessels/collaroy.html}} A navigational error was given as a cause, when the ship attempted to avoid Long Reef near Sydney in heavy fog, without the captain's order.{{cite web |title= Wreck report for Collaroy, 1881|work= plimsoll.org, Retrieved 9 March 2018|last= Francis Hixson |url=http://www.plimsoll.org/resources/scclibraries/wreckreports/14511.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309120346/http://www.plimsoll.org/resources/scclibraries/wreckreports/14511.asp|url-status=usurped|archive-date=9 March 2018}}{{cite web |title=Stranding of the S.S.Collaroy. National Library of Australia, Retrieved March 2, 2018,|last= The Argus Melbourne.|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5955415}} A report in the Sydney Evening News suggests the Collaroy was in an unofficial race with another coastal steamer, the Morpeth. And that a further westerly course would assist in reaching port in a faster time.{{cite news |title=The Stranding of the Collaroy | access-date=10 March 2018|via=Trove: The National Library of Australia|newspaper=The Sydney Evening News|date=8 February 1881|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/107214386?}}

Ship's mate Richard Drew stated that he did not see the Broken Bay light, several miles to the north of Long Reef. Another report said he also lost sight of the light at south head.The Daily Telegraph Sun Pictorial of 23 October 1927 At 3:55 am, ship's mate Richard Drew allegedly advised the captain of dense fog. A land form was noticed, incorrectly assumed to be Long Reef. After being on deck for twenty minutes, breaking waves were noticed on the starboard bow. The Collaroy was proceeding to the beach at ten knots. Orders were given to reverse engines. However, the ship breached the sand without great impact, and was unable to be shifted by the ship's reversing motor.

Initial attempts to drag the ship from the beach were unsuccessful. When Captain Thompson and five other men were attempting to connect the hawser in a smaller boat. All were all thrown overboard by a wave. One of the crew members was drowned. Hercules Dalziel from the Shetland Islands. Reports said he was tangled in nearby seaweed.{{cite web |title=The Stranded Steamer Collaroy|last= Sydney Morning Herald 31 January 1881|access-date=29 March 2018|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13483444?searchTerm=ss%20collaroy%20hercules&searchLimits=}}

On another attempt, the hawser became detached from the rescue tugs. The ship was beached for over three years. The stranded ship became a tourist attraction.{{cite web |title= Stranding of the P.S. Collaroy 1881|work= New South Wales Department of Environment and Heritage, Retrieved March 9th, 2018|last= Tim Smith |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/heritagebranch/maritime/collaroywreck.pdf}} The master Captain Martin Thompson and mate Mr Richard Drew had their licenses suspended for three months.{{cite web |title=Stranding of the Collaroy, Trove: National Library of Australia|work =The Sydney Evening News - February 11, 1881|access-date = 3 April 2018|last= The Argus Melbourne.|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/107210619?}}

The new owner, John Robertson of Botany paid £200 for the wreckage before the ship was recovered.

The Collaroy was described as so deep in the sand that the workmen could "step on her sponsons", while its hull was described as "full of water". With considerable labour the vessel was raised off the sand and turned head to

sea. A purpose-built cradle was made around the hull which was then swung so that the bow pointed seaward. A ‘way’ or launching ramp was then built ahead of the recovered steamer towards the water. Three additional ‘kedge’ anchors was placed out in the water adjacent to the steamer and attached to the bows. The steam tug Commodore again assisted in pulling Collaroy down the purpose-built ramp when the cable snapped. A second attempt also saw the line parting.

On the third attempt, hydraulic power was employed at the stern of the ship and with the assistance of the tug Leveret, the Collaroy was freed, and hauled from the beach at high tide, 7:30 pm on 9 September 1884. This was met with much celebration from local residents and tourists. And then towed to Darling Harbour in Sydney.{{cite web |title=Floating The Collaroy, Trove: National Library of Australia|work = The Evening News (Sydney) - September 20, 1885|access-date = 6 April 2018|last= |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/107270997?searchTerm=leveret%20collaroy&searchLimits=}}{{cite web |title= Stranding of the P.S. Collaroy 1881|work= New South Wales Department of Environment and Heritage, Retrieved March 9th, 2018|last= Tim Smith |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/heritagebranch/maritime/collaroywreck.pdf}}

After a week's maintenance on the slipway at Sydney, it was reported that "her engines worked splendidly".{{cite web |title=The SS Collaroy, Trove: National Library of Australia|work = Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate - September 4, 1885|access-date = 3 April 2018|last= The Argus Melbourne.|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/139060742?searchTerm=&searchLimits=l-publictag=ss+Collaroy}} A Rodger's small palm anchor was found at the wreck site in 1963 and an admiralty type anchor was also discovered at Collaroy in 2001.{{cite web |title=The Collaroy Paddle Steamer: New Ephemera Added To Public {{sic|Acces|ible|nolink=y}} Records - Her Connections To Pittwater, Trove: National Library of Australia|work = Pittwater Online News May 27 - June 2, 2018: Issue 361|access-date = 28 February 2021|last= |url=http://www.pittwateronlinenews.com/Collaroy-PS-New-Ephemera-Pittwater-Connections.php}}

At the time of the beaching, the ship's cargo consisted of 7 bales of wool, 170 bags of potatoes, 200 hides, 40 casks of tallow, 40 pigs and 30 sheep. The livestock was successfully landed and driven into a paddock close to the wreck. All twenty-four passengers (including 14 saloon and ten in steerage) were successfully brought ashore with their luggage in the starboard lifeboat, in three or four trips. The ladies and children were either carried through the breakers or waded ashore themselves. All but one of the forty aboard were safely landed, many being taken to Manly by a fleet of horse-drawn coaches.{{cite web |title=Stranding of the steamship Collaroy|last= Sydney Morning Herald 21 January 1881|access-date=29 March 2018|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13477193?searchTerm=&searchLimits=l-publictag=ss+Collaroy}}

In February 1888, the Collaroy was sold to its final owner, Alexander Burns. The ship was refitted as a schooner or barkentine rigged sailing ship, with the engine and paddles removed. The Collaroy sailed from Sydney on or about 24 April 1889, bound for Eureka, Humboldt County, California. The cargo was 500 tons of coal, and a crew of ten hands all told. The ship encountered fog five miles north of the entrance to Eureka Harbour on 7 July and was wrecked. No loss of life was recorded. The actions of Captain Alfred Ball were judged as professional, competent and without blame.{{cite web |title=California State Lands Commission Shipwreck Information|access-date=9 March 2018|last= California state government.|url=http://www.slc.ca.gov/Info/Shipwrecks/ShipwreckInfo.pdf}}Wreck report for the SS Collaroy 1889. plimsoll.org. (cached)

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Category:1881 in Australia

Category:Coastal trading vessels of Australia

Category:Paddle steamers of Australia

Category:History of New South Wales

Category:Individual sailing vessels

Category:Maritime incidents in January 1881

Category:Maritime incidents in July 1889

Category:Shipwrecks of the California coast

Category:1853 ships