SS Cheviot
History | |
---|---|
Australia | |
Name | SS Cheviot |
Owner | Wm. Howard Smith & Sons, Melbourne (1876–1887) |
Builder | Charles Mitchell and Co., Low Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
Launched | 1870 |
Identification |
|
Fate | Wrecked, 19 October 1887 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | |
Length | 230 ft 2 in (70.15 m) |
Beam | 32 ft 2 in (9.80 m) |
Depth of hold | 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) |
Propulsion | T. Clark & Co. compound steam engine |
Sail plan | Schooner-rigged |
SS Cheviot was an iron screw steamer built by Charles Mitchell and Co., of Low Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, England in 1870. She was owned by Wm. Howard Smith & Sons, Melbourne, Australia, for the transportation of coal and passengers. In 1887, she was wrecked in rough seas near Point Nepean in Victoria, Australia, with the loss of 35 lives, after the propeller was disabled. The beach nearby was subsequently named Cheviot Beach.
The ship
The Cheviot was built by Charles Mitchell and Co.,[2] of Low Walker in Newcastle upon Tyne, England in 1870. It had a tonnage of 1,226 gross and 764 net, dimensions of 230.2 × 32.2 × 17.5 feet (70.2 × 9.8 × 5.3 m) in the hold and compound vertical direct acting engines built by T. Clark & Co.[3] In 1876 the ship was registered in Melbourne to Wm. Howard Smith & Sons for use in the inter-colonial passenger and coal-carrying trade.[4]
Wreck
On the night of 19 October 1887, the Cheviot set out from
Aftermath
The captain, Thomas B. Richardson, was exonerated by the Steam Navigation Board and was praised for his attempts to save the vessel and those on board.[4]
Eight of the victims were buried in the nearby quarantine station cemetery.
The site of the tragedy, which became known as Cheviot Beach, was the location of Prime Minister Harold Holt's disappearance and presumed drowning in 1967.
References
- ^ Provost, Gilbert (2010). "Ships: Cha-Cli". Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- Australian National Shipwreck Database. 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ a b Williams, P.J. & Serle, R. (1963). Shipwrecks at Port Phillip Heads since 1840. Melbourne, Australia: Maritime Historical Productions.
- ^ a b "SS Cheviot Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number S113". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria.
External links
- "SS Cheviot Dive Site". The Scuba Doctor.