The Cambus Wallace

Ben Cropp holding items found on the Cambus Wallace wreck, 1971. Photographer Bob Avery

The steel barque Cambus Wallace was wrecked on the ocean side of a thin isthmus connecting North and South Stradbroke Islands in the early hours of the morning on 3 September 1894.

Having left Glasgow, Scotland in May 1894, she was on her maiden voyage and carried a full cargo of salt, beer, whiskey, pig iron and dynamite. The voyage had not been an easy one and the vessel encountered many storms during the journey.

Despite having two men on look out as they approached their final destination of Moreton Bay “… the weather was thick, and blowing hard, and they could not see ten yards ahead.”

Caught close to shore and with strong winds buffeting her, the Cambus Wallace was wrecked 200 yards from the beach with two of her small boats washed away and her lower decks submerged.

One sailor (Gustav Kindmark) managed to make it to shore and walked to Currigee where he raised the alarm.

A boat was dispatched to Southport where an urgent telegram was sent for assistance. Great fear was held for those remaining on the barque.

A steamer, the South Australian, travelling from Sydney approached the Cambus Wallace but due to the heavy seas and gale was unable to render any assistance.

By the next day, contemporary news reports record that 22 men had reached the shore and six men had perished. Within 12 hours the Cambus Wallace was mostly broken up and, by the end of September, the wreckage was advertised for auction.

A monument was erected for those who sadly lost their lives but, in time, it too was washed away by the sea.

The Marine Board inquiry into the wreck found that the captain and second mate were responsible. The captain’s ticket was suspended for two years from the date of the wreck for failing to verify the position of the vessel and other contributing factors. The second mate’s ticket was suspended for six months for failing to advise the captain of a change in wind direction. The chief officer was censured.

It is believed that the deliberate ignition of the dynamite that washed ashore, and further storms that followed, destabilised the thin line of sand dunes near the wreck and contributed to the eventual creation of Jumpinpin Bar when Stradbroke Island was severed in two.

For many years the figurehead from the vessel was displayed in front of the Railway Hotel in Scarborough Street, Southport. However, local folklore suggests that the figurehead, which slowly deteriorated and succumbed to termites, may have been from another unidentified vessel.

Sources of information and further reading

1. 1. Loss of the Cambus Wallace. (1894, September 4). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933), p. 5. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3586707
   2. Wreck of the Cambus Wallace. (1894, September 5). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933), p. 5. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3586756
   3. Wreck of the Cambus Wallace. (1894, September 5). Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), p. 3. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153460352
   4. Cambus Wallace Wreck Marine Board Enquiry. (1894, September 15). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 – 1947), p. 2. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article171948724
   5. Australian National Shipwreck Database. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from https://dmzapp17p.ris.environment.gov.au/shipwreck/public/wreck/wreck.do?key=2281
   6. Wreck of the Cambus Wallace. (1894, September 26). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8708454
   7. Queensland. (1894, September 26). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 – 1930), p. 5. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236114389
   8. Cambus Wallace Wreck. (1894, September 15). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 – 1947), p. 2. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article171948724
   9. Cambus Wallace Wreck. (1894, September 18). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 – 1947), p. 2. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article171947078
   10. Classified Advertising (1894, September 25). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933), p. 8. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3588023