Adolphe (ship)

The prow of the wreck Adolphe
Career
Name:	Adolphe
Owner:	Ant. Dom. Bordes et fils
Port of registry:	Dunkirk, France
Ship registration number:	Unknown
Ship official number:
Builder:	A.-D. Bordes et Fils of Bordeaux
Laid down:	shipyard of Chantiers de France, Dunkerque
Launched:	23 March 1902
Completed:	1902
Maiden voyage:	September 1902 - Arrived at Iquique from Port Talbot after 105 days
Status:	Wrecked
General characteristics
Type:	Barquentine
Tonnage:	Gross tonnage (GT) of 3204 tons
Displacement:	Net tonnage (NT) of 2413 tons
Length:	95.58 m (313.58 ft)
Beam:	13.74 m (45.08 ft)
Draught:	7.345 m (24.098 ft)
Installed power:	NA
Crew:	32
Wreck Event
When lost:	1904/09/30
Where lost:	Newcastle, Oyster Bank
Reason for loss:	Tug hawser parted
Cargo:	Ballast
Travelling from:	after a voyage from Antwerp, 85 days out
Travelling to:	Newcastle, NSW
Master:	Capt Lucas
Deaths:	0
Wreck Location
Discovered:	Yes
Wreck depth:	Above Water Level
Position:	32°54′49.46″S 151°47′50.21″E

The Adolphe was a sailing ship that was wrecked at the mouth of the Hunter River in New South Wales Australia in 1904. The ship is now the most prominent of several wrecks on what is now the Stockton breakwall, which protects Newcastle harbour. The rescue of the ship’s crew has gone down in local maritime history as one of the most remarkable in local waters.

Ship description and construction

Adolphe was a four-masted steel barque built in 1902 by Chantiers de France, Dunkerque. It was rigged with double top and topgallant sails.

Shipwreck event

On 30 September 1904 Adolphe was being towed through the entrance of Newcastle harbour by the tugs Hero and Victoria. Heavy seas prevented the tugs from holding her and she was swept first on to the wreck of the Colonist, then battered by waves that forced her on top of other submerged wrecks on what was then called the Oyster Bank. The lifeboat hurried to the scene and within two hours all 32 of the crew had been taken off. The northern breakwater of the entrance to the port of Newcastle was extended after the loss of the Adolphe. The French consul made an official visit to Newcastle to recognise the efforts of the lifeboat crew.

When the breakwater was extended in 1906 and reached the remains of the Adolphe, her remaining two masts and jib-boom were removed for safety reasons, she is actually resting across the remains of SS Wendouree, wrecked in 1898, and SS Lindus, lost in 1899.

Gallery

• Cawarra location.jpg

  Location of Adolphe on Stockton breakwall in relation to other wrecks

• Adolphe wreck1.jpg

  The wreck of the Adolphe on Stockton breakwall

References

• "National Shipwrecks database - wreck details Adolphe". Australian National Shipwreck Database. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/heritage/nsd/nsd_form.pl?search_id=5259. Retrieved 5 February 2010. 

Further reading

• Loney, Jack Kenneth (1993). Wrecks on the New South Wales Coast. Oceans Enterprises. ISBN 9780646110813. 
• Bateson, Charles (1972). Australian Shipwrecks - vol1 1622-1850. Sydney: AH and AW Reed. ISBN 0589071122. 
• Loney, Jack Kenneth (1980). Australian shipwrecks Vol. 2 1851–1871. Sydney: Reed. 
• Loney, Jack Kenneth (1982). Australian shipwrecks Vol. 3 1871–1900. Geelong Victoria: List Publishing. 
• Loney, Jack Kenneth (1987). Australian shipwrecks Vol. 4 1901–1986. Portarlington Victoria: Marine History Publications. 
• Loney, Jack Kenneth (1991). Australian shipwrecks Vol. 5 Update 1986. Portarlington Victoria: Marine History Publications.