WRECK OF THE DUNBAR.

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 August 1940, Page 4

WRECK OF THE DUNBAR.

About midnight on August 20, 1857, the Dunbar was battered' to pieces near Sydney Heads during a northeast gale with a tremendous sea setting dead on the land. Perhaps no wreck on the Australian coast has made such a lasting impression. She sailed from Plymouth on June 16 of that year and almost reached her destination when the tragic end came. . All hands were lost with the exception of a seaman named James Johnson who was found two days later on a rocky ledge of the cliffs towering 200 feet above him. Johnson was afterwards appointed lighthouse-keeper at Newcastle and died in Sydney some years ago. The records show that Johnson was 23 years of age and described as a tall, powerful Irishman and a native of Droheda. He had been at sea for a few years, but this was his first voyage to Sydney. The following from the Sydney Morning Herald,” of August 22, 1857, is of interest: “Sydney was, yesterday, thrown into a state of great anxiety and alarm by the report that, during the night, a large ship, with a considerable number of passengers had been wrecked at the Heads. The* first information was communicated by Captain Wiseman, of the steamer, “Grafton,” who reported a considerable amount of wreckage floating near the Heads. Later, bodies were seen floating in the harbour.” The “Sydney Herald,” of August 23, 1857, contains Johnson’s narrative of the tragedy. Briefly the chief points of which are: “My watch finished at midnight. Captain Green and the mate were on deck. I had’ scarcely gone down below before the vessel struck. Suddenly., the decks burst up from the pressure of water. The ship was rent into a thousand pieces, and all on board were hurled into the foaming and terrible sea.” After 50 years the anchor of the “Dunbar” was recovered from its watery grave and set in the rocks neai’ where the tragedy took place. From this corroded emblem of the mariner’s hope I have obtained a flake of what once was solid iron, to become the strangest thing ever to cross the Tasman by air-mail- —-a silent witness of the lost “Dunbar” eight-three years ago with 121 lives. TONY CASHION.

Mr Cashion, who formerly resided at Greymouth, also forwarded interesting photographs of himself, with the pieces of metal referred to in above letter, and Mr Mutch’s certificate. The letter was posted at Sydney on Saturday and reached Greymouth on Monday! Our thanks are due to Mr Cashion. —Ed., “Star.”