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English-Chinese Bilingual Reading 44: 10 Extremely Eccentric People, Among Them is Oscar Wilde[In this issue].
history of the ship nemesis
History of the ship Nemesis
on friday the 8th of july 1904 the nemesis, under control of captain lusher, left newcastle for melbourne with her hold full of coal and coke. the vessel immediately ran into a southerly gale and was last sighted by the s.s. marloo off wollongong. at some point nemesis appeared to h**e turned or was driven back towards sydney, as a vessel in distress was sighted off port hacking that night (sydney morning herald, 13 july, 1904). rockets were also seen off port hacking and wreckage later observed washing ashore at cronulla beach. thirty-two hands were lost in the incident. part of the steering wheel was later recovered on cronulla beach and over days and weeks, a number of bodies washed ashore around cronulla beach. some could not be identified.
On Friday 8 July 1904, the ship Nemesis left Newcastle for Melbourne laden with coal and coke under the command of Captain Luscher. The ship soon encountered a hurricane heading south and was last seen by the Marlow near Wollongong. Somewhere, the Nemesis appears to have turned or been driven back to Sydney because a ship in distress had been seen that night near Hakkin Harbour (Sydney Morning Herald, 13 July 1904). Flames were also seen near Hakin Harbour, and the wreck of the ship was later observed washed ashore at Kronullah Beach. Thirty-two people were killed in the accident. Later, part of the rudder of the ship was found at Cronoula Beach, and over the course of several weeks, day after day, many bodies washed up on the shores of Cronoura. Some of the bodies were unrecognizable.
the 73.4-metre nemesis was built at whitby, united kingdom, in 1881. the 1393-ton single screw steamer with an iron hull was powered by a compound engine. the vessel could reach speeds of 12 knots. the nemesis was registered in melbourne under huddart parker ltd with the intention of concentrating on the coal trade from newcastle. huddart parker then rented wharf space in darling harbour and its vessels began carrying cargo from melbourne to sydney only. huddart parker fitted the collier with accommodation of an intermediate standard, not as expensive as first class, but better than steerage. from august 1890, the nemesis operated to western australia during the 1890s gold rushes. she remained as a passenger carrier till the last years of the century when she was relegated to collier status.
Length 73The 4-metre Nemesis was built in 1881 in Whitby, England. The 1,393-ton single-screw iron-hulled steamship is powered by a composite engine. The ship can reach speeds of up to 12 knots. The Nemesis is registered in Melbourne and is owned by Hardett Parker*** and is designed to focus on Newcastle's coal**. Hardett Park*** then leased dock space at Darling Harbour and its ships began delivering goods from Melbourne to Sydney only. Hardett Parker*** is equipped with mid-standard accommodation for the mine, not as expensive as first class, but better than the cockpit. From August 1890, the Nemesis travelled to Western Australia during the gold rush of the 90s of the 19th century. She was originally a passenger ship until the last years of the 19th century, when it was downgraded to a coal carrier.
the wreck known internally at heritage nsw initially as the unidentified wreck off wollongong 165m deep was discovered and subsequently reported by ed korber (subsea professional marine services) in may 2022. rov footage collected by subsea in 2021 provided initial details of features around the midships and bow sections.
Inside Heritage NSW, the wreck, originally known as the 165-metre-deep Wollongong Unidentified Wreck, was discovered and reported in May 2022 by Ed Kolber & Co. (Subsea Specialist Marine Services). Underwater remote control imagery collected by Subsea in 2021 provides initial details of the features around the amidships and bow sections.
early attempts to undertake fieldwork inspections of the site were organised by heritage nsw in conjunction with subsea professional marine services, which included establishing the exact location, height/depth orientation and extent of the sites debris field in july and august 2023.
The NSW Heritage Board, in conjunction with Seabed Specialist Marine Services, organised an early attempt to conduct a field visit to the site, including determining the exact location, height, depth positioning and extent of the site debris field in July and August 2023.
drop camera footage was collected by the csiro research vessel (rv) investigator in september 2023 during voyage in2023_e03 at the request of heritage nsw. this activity was conducted as a piggyback project on the voyage and supported by an allocation of sea time on rv investigator from the csiro marine national facility. this footage was supplemented by earlier rov footage taken of the site by subsea in 2021.
At the request of Heritage NSW, research vessel investigators from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia collected footage from underwater cameras during the IN2023 E03 voyage in September 2023. This activity was carried out as a side project on the voyage and was supported by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Marine National Facilities Division for the allocation of time at sea for investigators. This footage is complemented by live footage from an early underwater remote control taken by Subsea in 2021.
an interim report was undertaken by heritage nsw senior maritime archaeologist (dr brad duncan) in october 2023 and was designed to provide preliminary indications as to whether the wreck was/ wasn’t the wreck of the ss nemesis. the report consists of predominantly visual identification of distinct site features of the unidentified wreck off wollongong. after careful consideration and comparison of the archaeological evidence with historical documentations, it appears highly likely that the wreck may be that of the ss nemesis which sank somewhere off wollongong in 1904. although it is highly probable that the wreck discovered is this vessel, definitive proof of its identity was not **ailable, especially as the design of many ships of the huddart parker line were nearly identical. however, the main sheer strake appears to be either a repair or reinforcement plate (possibly used as a rubbing strake). this is highly distinctive and unusual, and it may be this band that positively identifies the vessel as the nemesis with a high degree of certainty. the report compared features in both video surveys of the site and it concluded that the wreck is highly likely to be the ss nemesis.
Dr Brad Duncan, Senior Maritime Archaeologist for Heritage NSW, released an interim report in October 2023 to provide an initial indication of whether the wreck is a Nemesis wreck. The report mainly consisted of a visual identification of the different site features of an unidentified shipwreck near Wollongong. After careful consideration and comparison of archaeological evidence with historical documents, it is likely that the wreck was the USS Nemesis wreck that sank near Wollongong in 1904. Although it is highly likely that the wreck found was the same ship, definitive evidence of its identity could not be obtained, especially since many of the ships of the Hardet Parker series were almost identical in design. However, the main broadside plate appears to be a repair plate or reinforcement plate (possibly used as a scuff plate). This is very unique and unusual, and it is probably this board height that identifies the ship as the Nemesis. The report compared the characteristics of the two on-site ** surveys and concluded that the wreck was most likely the SS Nemesis.
further opportunistic inspection of the site is required to further conclusively identify the vessel, using more specific relics which were not identified in the drop camera footage (e.g. ships plates or other relics with the ship or company logo, or even the ships bell).
Further random inspections of the site are required to further determine the identity of the vessel, using more specific remains that are not identified in underwater camera footage (e.g., ship plates or other relics with a ship or company logo, or even a ship bell).
source】www.environment.nsw.gov.au
Translated by] Spark Liao (廖怀宝)
illustration】from bing