North Head has taken a heavy toll of ships and lives over the years
The massive and starkly beautiful cliffs of North Head possess a cruel and forbidding character that has taken a heavy toll of lives and vessels over the years.
Manly
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The massive and starkly beautiful cliffs of North Head possess a cruel and forbidding character that has taken a heavy toll of lives and vessels over the years.
The worst tragedy occurred in 1857, when the Catherine Adamson was wrecked below the Old Man’s Hat on the southern face of North Head with the loss of 21 lives but it was just one of many maritime tragedies that have occurred at the foot of those forbidding cliffs.
Given North Head’s position as one of the two guardians of the entrance to Port Jackson, it was inevitable that it would take its toll of men and ships, even before consideration its given to the wild weather that can suddenly strike the eastern seaboard or the human errors that can occur at any time.
From the earliest days of the colony, ships frequently struggled as they made their way into or out of the port and apart from those that fell victim to the massive sandstone cliffs, there were many others that foundered nearby as they fell prey to the fury of the sea.
At least five vessels were lost in the waters off North Head in the first 40 years of the colony – including the Hope in 1803, the Charlotte in 1808 and the Fly in 1829 – with the loss of as many lives.
And there were probably other vessels that foundered near North Head without anyone knowing of their fate.
The first known wreck on North Head itself occurred on January 20, 1830, when the schooner Liberty was driven ashore and wrecked.
Thankfully her passengers and crew managed to scramble ashore and no lives were lost.
At least four more vessels foundered in the waters off North Head in the following 25 years – including the Alfred in 1846, which sank after colliding with another vessel – but the number of lives lost was smaller than the number of vessels lost.
But the relatively death toll, at least when considering the number of vessels lost, was about to rise dramatically.
In October 1857, just two months after the wreck of the Dunbar near The Gap with the loss of 121 lives, the clipper Catherine Adamson came to grief on North Head with the loss of 21 lives.
The Catherine Adamson was making its way into the harbour after an uneventful voyage from England when it was struck by a sudden squall and driven towards Inner North Head.
Despite the efforts of its crew and those on the pilot boat and a passing steamer, the Catherine Adamson went aground below the Old Man’s Hat and quickly broke up as it was pounded by the waves.
Five passengers, 15 crew and the harbour pilot drowned.
The Old Man’s Hat, named for its resemblance to a tam-o-shanter at a jaunty angle, was the scene of four more shipwrecks over the next 16 years – the Annie in 1858, the Eagle in 1866, the Prince Patrick in 1869 and the Oscar in 1873 – but thankfully without loss of life.
But the 1880s saw North Head exact a heavy toll on maritime traffic – six ships were wrecked on the headland and at least two lives were lost, while another three ships foundered in the shadow of North Head.
In 1887 two ships were lost in or near North Head under similarly bizarre circumstances.
The Centurion went aground on North Head in January 1887 after the towline broke as the ship was being towed from Sydney to Newcastle and just four months later the Pomme de Terre sank while under tow after colliding with another ship that was also under tow.
Over the next 50 years numerous vessels were lost on or near North Head but again the death toll was relatively low.
On December 6, 1920, the ketch Ruby went aground near the Old Man’s Hat, without loss of life.
A 26ft boat with man on board was driving on the rocks below the Old Man’s Hat on January 8, 1926, but the man was able to scramble ashore.
A 55-year-old Fairlight man, Charles Kevin, drowned on October 30, 1931, when the launch from which he, his son Clement and a friend were fishing was wrecked below the Old Man’s Hat.
The occupants of a passing launch, the OK, rescued Clement Kevin from the water and also recovered Mr Kevin’s body.
But in 1937 North Head claimed the lives of six men when the 32-foot fishing launch Voyager was thrown broadside on to the rocks near Blue Fish Point and smashed to pieces.
The Voyager was on an all-day fishing excursion outside the harbour but the increasingly foul weather forced the boat’s return to the harbour.
But no sooner had the Voyager set its course for home when the motor failed, leaving the launch drifting helplessly towards the rocks.
In front of horrified onlookers on the clifftop, the Voyager struck the rocks below and the nine men aboard it were thrown into the sea.
Only three of the men survived.
On August 5, 1952, eight naval personnel were lucky to survive the wreck of their vessel below the Old Man’s Hat at night.
The vessel was a Seaward Defence Motor Launch (SDML), called a Harbour Defence Motor Launch (HDML) during World War II, which was being towed from Sydney to Manaus Island.
But the towline broke between the Heads and the SDML drifted on to the rocks below the Old Man’s Hat and was wrecked.
The eight seamen on board were able to scramble up the side of the headland to the quarantine station.
The rusting remains of one of the SDML’s engines can still be seen on rocks below the Old Man’s Hat.
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