121 lives lost when the “unsinkable” Dunbar sank on Sydney’s doorstep

When a who’s who of wealthy and important Australians died in a shipwreck just 11km from home it was a stab to the heart of the colony.

James Johnson, the sole survivor of the shipwreck of the Dunbar. Picture: State Library of NSW

When the Dunbar sailed for 81 days from Plymouth to Australia in 1857, it was considered unsinkable – the Titanic of its day.

So when the clipper was smashed to pieces on Sydney’s doorstep, leaving many of the 121 bodies washing up on harbour beaches for days, the fledgling city was left traumatised.

The story of the Dunbar’s sole survivor, James Johnson, is told in a new episode of the free In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters:

In his latest book, The Shipwreck, author Larry Writer recounts the night the Dunbar was smashed apart near the cliffs of The Gap.

“These enormous waves picked up the Dunbar and smashed it sideways onto the rocks and it sank within half an hour,” Writer tells us.

“The crewmen on board including Captain Green and James Johnson were flung overboard into the water.”

The Dunbar offered voyagers a first-class passage from England to Australia. Picture: State Library Victoria

Dunbar victims Marian Egan (centre), daughter Gertrude and son Henry. Picture: National Portrait Gallery of Australia

Irish-born Johnson, 20, who had been at sea since age 12 and had previously sailed to Melbourne and back, was the Dunbar’s respected able seaman.

The Dunbar was carrying a who’s who of wealthy and important Australians, returning to loved ones after a visit home to England.

“There were people there who had really made their mark … so when they perished on the Dunbar, which was a ship that was supposedly indestructible, just 11km from the end of their journey, after having travelled 22,000km from England, it was a total wake-up call,” Writer says. “It was a stab to the heart of the colony.”

The Shipwreck by Larry Writer.

Larry Writer, author of The Shipwreck.

While his fellow crew and passengers drowned around him, Johnson clung to a piece of floating wreckage.

He was flung onto a rock by a wave and clambered 10m up onto a ledge, where he fell unconscious.

Some 36 hours later, an onlooker peering down saw something fluttering below, and Johnson was hauled 60m up to safety.

Writer says Sydney was “traumatised” by the shipwreck.

An artist's impression of the dramatic rescue of Johnson. Picture: James Fryer/Wreck of the Dunbar

Johnson in later life. Picture Australian National Maritime Museum

“Sydney didn’t know anything had happened the night before until the morning … when bodies and cargo and debris from the ship’s structure started washing up on the beaches of The Gap, and then this detritus was pushed north by the gale, through the Heads, and started showing up on the beaches of Sydney,” he says.

“There was a steamer that came in through the Heads, and there was junk from the ship and bodies and things got caught up in the paddle wheel. It was just a horrific sight.”

Johnson was hailed as a celebrity and went on to live a long and fruitful life, marrying twice, raising a family, and working in a lighthouse.

To learn more, listen to the interview with Larry Writer in the In Black and White podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or web.

See In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper Monday to Friday for more stories and photos from Victoria’s past.