Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Edward Lombe

A three-masted timber barque of 347 (imperial) tons (352.6 tonnes) that was built in Yorkshire in 1828 and named after a local politician. The ship travelled between England and Australia in 1830 and again in 1832-3, carrying goods and passengers, including immigrants and convicts, before her final voyage in 1834. She was wrecked on Middle Head on 25 August 1834, the first time a shipwreck occurred in Sydney with an associated loss of life. Eleven of the 29 people on board died.

Milestone
Constructed
Whitby, Yorkshire, England
1828
Arrived Sydney
04 Jan 1833
Departed Sydney
15 Apr 1833
Destroyed
25 Aug 1834
Arrived Sydney
25 Aug 1834
Position
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
- 25 Aug 1834
Mar 1834 - 25 Aug 1834
Mar 1834 - 25 Aug 1834
Mar 1834 - 25 Aug 1834
Mar 1834 - 25 Aug 1834
Mar 1834 - 25 Aug 1834
Mar 1834 - 25 Aug 1834
Mar 1834 - 25 Aug 1834
15 Aug 1834 - 25 Aug 1834
15 Aug 1834 - 25 Aug 1834
Type

The wreck of the Edward Lombe

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2019

In August 1834 one of the worst maritime disasters in Sydney waters took place when the Edward Lombe was wrecked off Middle Head. The story has been overshadowed by the catastrophic wreck of the Dunbar in 1857, but at the time, the wreck of the Edward Lombe was a significant and distressing incident for the colony. Never before had the colony witnessed the destruction of a large sailing vessel with a resulting loss of life and the event generated widespread debate in the colony about the safety of shipping in the harbour.