Wreck of the Emma, March 1867

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Coral Bay, Western Australia, Australia
Surname/tag: Sholl

Wreck of the Emma, March 1867

The 116-ton two-masted wooden-hulled schooner Emma was built at Lowestoft in Suffolk England in 1859. It was 26.1m long by 6.2m broad, drawing 3.4 m and had one deck, a round stern and a ‘shield’ head. It’s registry was transferred to unknown owners at Fremantle in September 1865 and it was purchased by local shipowner and entrepreneur Walter Padbury in the following year. ^[1]

The Emma left Port Walcott on 3 March 1867 headed for Fremantle with 42 people onboard. The settlement of Roebourne was expecting the vessel to return by the end of April. When it didnt return, the settlement ran short of provisions.^[2]

In 1992 the remains of a wreck was confirmed as being the Emma, at at 23° 05.08’S., 113°44.15’E on a flat corraline reef north of Coral Bay.

42 people were lost, including:

Crew:

Badcock, master, previously mate of the Bridgetown, which ship he joined in China, last year; and crew of seven men.

Passengers:

Trevarton Charles Sholl (1845-1867), son of the Resident Magistrate at Port Walcott.

Charles Nairn, manager for Mr. Padbury at Port Walcott, and the DeGrey River.

Mr. J. Tays, pearl shell fisher, formerly of Victoria and Camden Harbor.

Mr. Abbott, late master of the New Perseverance.

Mr. Louis Blagrav, a native of Hungary; Natural History Collector.

Messrs. W. Rogers, Walter Jones, Septimus Robert Toovey, and R. Williams, belonging to the police at Roebuck and Nicol Bays.

Seven Military Pensioners, returning from duty at Roebuck Bay.

Messrs. D. Brown, J. Vincent, G. Gregson; Charles Smith, Charles Sutton, and John Staynor, government laborers, all of Perth, -, M. Grath, John Breadman, J. Hogan, blacksmith; one sailor, late of the New Perseverance, a shepherd from the DeGrey ; and five or six natives, two of whom were prisoners from Nicol Bay, the others belonged to this part of the colony, and were returning from service. This leaves one other person who we can ascertain nothing of.

Sources

1. ↑ Wreck of the Emma. Museum of WA. Retrieved online on 28 August 2023 at https://museum.wa.gov.au/maritime-archaeology-db/wrecks/emma
2. ↑ NICOL BAY (1867, July 12). The Perth Gazette and West Australian Times (WA : 1864 - 1874), p. 2. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3750914