Preservation Island Tasmania Australia

The Sydney Cove, a sailing ship with a speculative cargo consisting of various provisions, spirits and goods, is wrecked in 1797 on Preservation Island off Tasmania while on her way from Calcutta to Port Jackson.

It is among the first ships wrecked on the east coast of Australia.

The ship’s master, Gavin (or Guy) Hamilton, chose to ground the leaking ship in a sheltered location, so everyone was able to get ashore safely and most of the cargo was saved as well.

Salvaged rum is stored safely out of the crew's reach, on nearby Rum Island.

A party of seventeen men set off on February 28, 1797, in the ship's longboat to reach help at Port Jackson, four hundred nautical miles (seven hundred and forty kilometers) away.

This is led by first mate Hugh Thompson, and includes William Clark the supercargo, three European seaman and twelve lascars.

Ill fortune strikes again and they are wrecked on the mainland at the northern end of Ninety Mile Beach.

Their only hope is to walk along the shore all the way to Sydney, a distance of over six hundred kilometers.

The schooner Francis and sloop Eliza had been dispatched to Preservation Island to collect the people remaining there and salvage the ship's cargo.

The survivors, while waiting for rescue, had lived on the local Short-tailed Shearwaters, or Australian Muttonbirds, and built rough shelter for themselves, but the ship had been damaged in May by heavy westerly gales, making it impossible to save her.

The Francis and Eliza become separated on the return journey and the Eliza is wrecked, with the loss of her crew and eight of the Sydney Cove survivors.

The Francis makes a further salvage voyage in December and again in January 1798.

Matthew Flinders is aboard the third voyage, assigned to make geographical observations.

He notes colonies petrels and seals, and locates and names the Kent Group of islands.

The salvage team also collects and preserves a wombat, which they forward to England for scientific observation.

At the same time, George Bass is on his whaleboat voyage following the coast of the mainland, and he had thought to make for the Sydney Cove to replenish his provisions but leaks in the boat had prevented him setting that course.

He had, however, encountered a group of escaped convicts marooned on an island.

They, too, had been making for the ship with the false hope of refloating her and making good their escape.

Seal hunters will be active in the area soon after, and the island will become a base for sealers exploiting fur seals and Southern Elephant Seals.