S.S. Maitland wrecked at Cape Three Points. The line barely visible hanging from the stern was the life line secured to rocks by crew.

Researched and compiled by the Local Studies Librarian,
Gosford City Library, September 2006

"To and from the Metropolis…"

In 1840, the Hunter river Steam Navigation Company (HRSNC) was formed. A memo dated 1856 stated the objectives of the company thus: "to promote the welfare and prosperity of the Hunter river district by securing constant, sufficient and reasonably inexpensive means of transport to and from the Metropolis".

Before 1889, there was no through rail link between Sydney and Newcastle. Coastal steamers at that time offered the most efficient means of transporting goods and passengers. Competition between rival companies was fierce, but there was enough business to keep shipping companies viable.

Postcard view of the opening day scene at
Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge, 1st May, 1889.

The completion of the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge in May 1889 saw the beginning of difficult times for the HRSNC. The railway poached goods and passenger traffic from the HRSNC and the Newcastle Steamship company, and this ultimately led to a merger in 1892.

"Yacht-like, clipper-bowed and graceful of aspect…"

The S.S. Maitland first arrived in Sydney Harbour from Glasgow in June 1871. After a thorough clean and final check she was placed in service between Sydney and Morpeth on Wednesday, July 19th, 1871.

Maritime historian, J. Abbott, wrote that the typical Hunter River Steam Navigation Company (HRSNC) ship was "yacht-like, clipper- bowed and graceful of aspect".

A handsome vessel, the Maitland was 240 feet long and weighed 880 tons gross. The hull was made of iron plate, and paddle wheels mounted either side of the hull provided the means of propulsion.

During her 1871 trials, the Maitland was said to "steer admirably", and reached a top speed of 14 knots. Her steam-engines could develop an estimated 250 horse-power, and were designed for simple control by one man. The engines could be rapidly reversed if required.

Two tubular boilers, each furnished with six furnaces, kept stokers busy. The first passage to Newcastle took 5 ½ hours from Sydney. On the Hunter River she ran six miles in 25 minutes.

Bird's-eye maple fittings "polished to glossy brightness" and seats "cushioned with horsehair" were features of the "commodious and handsomely furnished" saloons. There were 38 berths in the saloon, 14 in the ladies cabin, and 2 staterooms off the saloon. In addition to this, the Maitland boasted another two staterooms, and accommodation for at least 34 passengers.

 
S.S. Maitland at Morpeth Wharf.

"In the teeth of a howling gale and a raging sea…"

The Newcastle and Hunter River steamship Maitland departed from Sydney at 11pm on Thursday May 5th, 1898. Heavily laden with a cargo of sugar, rice, whisky & ale, iron, tea and other necessities, the Maitland also carried 36 passengers.

A southerly gale blew, and the seas were mountainous. The ship had not travelled far when the deckhouses and a paddle-wheel cover were wrecked by breakers. Large quantities of water flooded the engine-room, threatening to put out the furnaces.

As the ship steamed northward, large quantities of cargo were jettisoned, and crew and passengers alike baled water. Captain Skinner attempted to steer the ship into Broken Bay, but the water engulfed the vessel and extinguished the ship's fires.

The Maitland now drifted helplessly, and was finally flung onto the Bombora at cape Three Points at around 5am on the morning of 6th May.

The vessel struck bow first, and then a second, heavier sea struck and swung the ship around until it was wedged on the rocks about 60 yards from the headland. Steerage passengers and the chief officer at the bow end were thrown into the boiling sea when she parted amidships. After two more deaths, and some truly heroic actions by crew and passengers, a line to shore was secured and survivors crawled down it two at a time. Over the next few weeks, the sea reluctantly gave up its dead. 24 people are believed to have died in the Maitland disaster.

Captain Skinner was highly commended for the "discipline which was maintained on board ship under most trying circumstances".

"There were tears in the Captain's eyes..."

Mrs Anita Hammond had boarded the ship Maitland at Market Street Wharf with her one year old daughter. What should have been a fairly quick and routine voyage disappeared as the rising gale drove huge waves down on the steamer.

When the Maitland was jammed and broken on the rocks at Cape Three Points, the crew desperately attempted to get a line ashore. After 3 attempts this was finally achieved, and Mrs Hammond was persuaded to leave her baby with the captain, three firemen and the boatswain so that the mother could have injuries tended to ashore.

 
"Mascot" Daisy Hammond with a man believed to be her rescuer, Boatswain Johanson, circa 1908.

When the baby cried from hunger, the men chewed ship's biscuits and fed the meal to her. Next day, when the seas calmed, the crew's "Mascot", baby Hammond, went down the rope on Boatswain Johanson's back. "We sailors are what you call superstitious, but we know a good omen, and the baby was our mascot", Captain Skinner said. Later, the child was christened Anita Daisy Mascotte Hammond. The baby grew to womanhood, married and became Daisy Stevens. She lived a long life, most of which was spent in Canada.  

Daisy Stevens (nee Hammond) pictured during her 1971
visit to the Maitland Wreck. Gwen Dundon photograph.

Daisy ventured back to the Maitland wreck site in 1971. Upon her death in Canada early in 1988, her ashes were returned to be scattered at a moving memorial service, at the very spot she had been rescued from all 90 years previously.

 
Memorial service for Daisy Stevens, April 1988.
Gwen Dundon photograph.

"A scene to make the angels weep…"

Following the wreck of the Maitland, disturbing allegations of looting began to appear in the Gosford Times.
The May 18th , 1898 issue described the scene: "Notwithstanding the difficult access to the scene of the wrecked steamer hundreds of residents of Gosford and surrounding districts climbed over the rugged mountain headlands and through dense scrub during the week to view the disaster which presented a most pitiable and heart-rending spectacle".

 
Many sightseers, the simply curious and the opportunistic, visited the wreck in the days after the disaster.

The May 20th issue of the Gosford Times was damning of opportunistic visitors…"The beach is strewn with valuable cargo for which somebody has already or must pay for. Upon yonder rock lies the body of a maiden, cast up by the relentless waves, a simple sheet hiding her nude form from the curious throng of sightseers who have come to see a wreck."

"Will some of you young men kindly volunteer to carry the body across the hill to a house?" asks a policeman on duty. No fear, not them. Not while there is Beer, glorious Beer to be had for the staving in of a cask. The age of chivalry is past. A sister's body can be got away by those who are paid to do so; or some brotherly fellows who don't like Beer. But some of the specimens of the "noble manhood" who are to have a share in making of a Federated Australia fall to, some with billycans, some with bottles or tins from the ship - in fact anything that would hold the precious Beer - and guzzle, aye, almost swim in it!

Then begins a scene that beggars description - fighting, cursing, insulting. Manhood shorn of his glory! A sight that makes the devils laugh, but a scene in which men should have stood with bared heads and sympathetic hearts, for it was filled with the presence of death and destruction, and hallowed by the Sabbath.

The aftermath of a disaster…

In the weeks that followed the Maitland wreck, the sea continued to tear her to pieces. The Maitland Mercury of May 13th, 1898 reported: "A visit to the wreck of the Newcastle steamer Maitland yesterday showed that she is fast going to pieces. All that remained last evening of the hull was about 40ft, which was in a terribly battered condition, and seemed likely to fall asunder at any moment. The forepart of the ship has been lifted by the seas on end, and is in a remarkable position. The coast for miles is strewn with wreckage, but though a diligent search was made by the water police and others, no more bodies were found. In the opinion of a couple of nautical men, a couple of days will see the last of the ship".

Bodies were gradually washed ashore, many unidentifiable. Those that could be identified were sometimes claimed by relatives and buried closer to their home towns. Many unidentified bodies were buried in an unmarked grave in a small cemetery at Booker Bay. Today this cemetery site, off Bogan Road, is buried under asphalt in the car park of a block of flats.

"A casualty due to no human shortcoming…"

The Gosford Times of June 17th, 1898 carried a short summary of the finding of the Marine Board into the causes of the wreck of the Maitland.
"The wreck was brought about by the vessel becoming cast upon the rocks near Cape Three Points during an exceptionally heavy gale, which washed portion of the starboard sponson away, thereby admitting the seas into the engine room, causing her fires to be put out, and rendering her unmanageable. No evidence was adduced upon which to found a charge of default against the master, Richard Skinner. The Board highly commends the discipline which was maintained on board the ship under the most trying circumstances; and they also appreciate the gallantry and efforts displayed to save life".

Captain Skinner is believed to have never recovered from the events of May 6th, 1898. He died in 1901.

In August 1898 the Royal Shipwreck and Humane Society presented many awards for bravery to those who assisted in rescues from the wreck.

 
Certificate awarded to William Williams for attempting to get a line ashore from the Maitland wreck. BWHS Collection.

Those recognised for their bravery included:

W.Williams - Silver Medal & Certificate -attempting to get line ashore from wreck

A. Anderson - Silver Medal & Certificate - attempting to get line ashore from wreck.

J. Russell - Silver Medal & Certificate - taking line ashore from wreck.

S.S. Smith - Certificate of Merit - assisting to get line ashore.

F.A. Franks - Certificate of Merit - assisting to get line ashore.

J. Dempsey - Silver Medal & Certificate - attempting to free line.

Mrs A, Hammond -Silver Medal & Certificate -saving life.

J. Henderson - Silver Medal & Certificate - saving life.

W. Phillips - Silver Medal & Certificate - saving life.

 
Mrs Anita Hammond wears her Silver Medal given for saving life,
and the medals awarded.

The "Maitland Gale" was said to have been the worst seen for thirty years. Many other vessels were lost or damaged because of the storm. The area where the Maitland was wrecked was formerly known as Boat Harbour. Following the events of May 6th, 1898, this spot, that saw the very best and very worst of human behaviour, forever will be known as Maitland Bay.

View of Maitland Bay. Gwen Dundon photograph.

 
Wreckage of the Maitland, taken shortly after 1898.

 
Boiler remains, 1932.

 
The sea takes its toll. Few relics of the Maitland wreck remained by 1988.
Gwen Dundon photograph.

Sources:

Booker Bay Cemetery (LSVF GCL Local studies collection)

Dundon, Gwen. Old Gosford and District in pictures. Gosford, the author, 1988. pages 38-40.

Gosford and District in pictures web database:
http://www.photosau.com.au/Gosford/scripts/home.asp

S.S. Maitland Collection (Local Studies, Gosford Library, Boxed records including many contemporary and later newspaper articles, primary documents etc.)

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