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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Subjects
Events
Accidents and disasters

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Accidents and disasters

Subject

Dunbar shipwreck

Eastern seaboard bushfires 1994

Egan, Marian

Granville rail disaster 1977

HMS Guardian

Luna Park Ghost Train fire 1979

Strathfield massacre 1991

The Gap

The Life and Death of Joe Lynch

The wreck of the Edward Lombe

Tram deaths

Transcript: Mr Pat Cullen recalls driving the police to accident scenes in his car in Liverpool

Transcript: Mrs Dorothy Colburn recalls hazards associated with the Georges River

Transcript: Mrs Lillian Watson recalls an American Air Force plane crash during World War II

Boyd

Charles Eaton

Dunbar

Edward Lombe

Hereward

MV Malabar

Maitland

SS Goolgwai

SS Minmi

SS Tekapo

TSS Belbowrie

1994 Eastern seaboard bushfires

Berala train accident 1952

Black Sunday surf rescue 1938

Coogee Beach surf rescue 1911

Dandenong gale 1876

Dunbar shipwreck 1857

Granville rail disaster

Great fire in the city, October 1890

Greycliffe shipwreck 1927

Haslams Creek railway accident 1858

Hawkesbury River flood 1867

Luna Park Ghost Train fire 1979

Rodney ferry accident 1938

Anderson, Andrew

Baker, Harold

Billings, Johnathon

Bynon, William

Cahuac, Gertrude Evans

Cahuac, Henry William

Carroll, Richard Charles

Clarken, James (Jimmy)

Cranston, William

Cressy, Richard

Downie, John

D’Oyley, William

Egan, Marian

Foden, Richard George

Fraser, Eliza

Gibbs, Thomas

Godson, Craig

Godson, Damien

Godson, Jennifer

Godson, John

Greenhill, Thomas Tress

Hayes, William

Hinks, Harold

Hinks, Leslie

Hurst, Eric Alfred

Johnson, Michael David

Jones, Mrs

Kemp, Charles

Knight, Austin

Lang, Thomas

Lawson, Henry

McCutcheon, Wallace John

Morrin, Beryl Gladys

Norman, George

Pratt, Robert

Rahilly, Seamus

Starkey, James

Stroyan, Stuart

Sutherland, Henry

Swan, John

Taylor, Thomas

Tebbutt, William

Terrence, Joseph

Thompson, Clyde William

Weatherhead, Henry

Wilson, William

Young, Richard

Younghusband, Henry

Malabar Shipwrecks site

SS Minmi shipwreck site

Shipwrecks sites, Maroubra

Air Accident Memorial

Wreck of the 'Edd Lalm' [Edward Lombe] On Middle Head Fort Jackson 1834

'Ferry Steamer Sunk' The Argus, November 4 1927, p 15

'The Inundations at Marrickville: Rescuing the Homeless' May 1889

A Shark Took Beryl Morrin's Arms 1938

A pedestrian is injured when knocked down by a Kings Cross tram 1930s

Ambrotype of John Pascoe, third officer on the Dunbar, 1850-1857

Beryl Morrin, who lost both arms as a result of a shark attack in the Georges River on New Year's Eve, with a nurse at Canterbury Hospital 10 February 1935

Coogee Surf Tragedy: Four Lives Lost, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

Crowds viewing the Hereward, aground at Maroubra c1898

Demolition of buildings after fire in the city 2 October 1890

Demolition of buildings in Moore Street after fire, 7 October 1890

Destruction of the City Bank building at 106 Pitt St after the great fire, 2 October 1890

Diver Rescue From Canal: Caught In Silt, 3 January 1946

Floods in New South Wales - Windsor at nightfall June 1867

Granville rail disaster 18 January 1977

Granville rail disaster 18 January 1977

Granville rail disaster 18 January 1977

Gravestone 'Sacred to the memory of William Yardley, who lost his life by the bite of a Snake on the 5th of December 1824' in Devonshire Street Cemetery, 1901

Greycliffe House in Vaucluse after the fire, 1897

HMAS Sydney feared sunk - Most Secret memo to the Prime Minister 26 November 1941

HMAS Sydney reported overdue 25 November 1941

Harold Baker, one of the heroes of the Coogee surf tragedy, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

Her Majesty's Theatre Fire, 1902

Heroism in the Surf: Bondi Death Wave 6 February 1938

Huge wave at Bondi 6 February 1938

Inquest begins on Luna Park 1979

James Clarken, whose splendid work was largely instrumental in saving several lives at Coogee, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

James Johnson, survivor of the wreck of the Dunbar 1857

Juvenile Sympathy 1834

Letter received from William Hill, Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, 26 July 1790 (copy made in 1791)

Letter to the editor of the Sydney Times on the loss of the Edward Lombe 1834

Life's Tragedy: announcement in Smith's Weekly of Joe Lynch's death, 1927

Man carrying an injured boy at Fort Macquarie after Greycliffe disaster 3 November 1927

Manly ferry 'Bellubera' fire 1936

Melancholy Accident - report of the drowning of Willam and Mary Cavendish during regatta on Anniversary Day 26 January 1839

Page of Edward Riou's logbook of the voyage of HMS Guardian 23 November 1789

Part of the Crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the Boats 1790

Part of the reef in Sydney Bay, Norfolk Island, on which the Sirius was wreck'd, 19 March 1790

Plan showing area damaged in the great fire of October 1890

Poetry. Original. Lines suggested by the wreck of the 'Edward Lombe' 1835

Report on the Coroner's Inquest and the burials of of Thomas Gibbes, Charles Kemp and James Starkie of the Edward Lombe 6 September 1834

Resuscitation work being carried out by lifesavers and helpers, Bondi Beach 6 February 1938

Shark attack survivor Beryl Morrin arranging flowers at her home in Bass Hill May1938

Sketch of Edward Lombe from part of wreck, Middle Head, New South Wales 1834

St Mary's Cathedral after the fire in 1865

Steam crane raises the ferry Greycliffe after it had capsized, 1927

Surfing tragedy at Bondi 6 February 1938

Sydney Shark Tragedy, January 1946

The Belmore bus accident at the Cooks River Bridge, Canterbury during the late heavy rains and floods in Sydney June 1889

The Burning of the Garden Palace Sydney, September 22, 1882, as seen from Macquarie Street

The Hero of Coogee Beach 1922

The collapse of the old Glebe Island Bridge, August 1899

The explosion of Mr L'Estrange's balloon near Sydney 15 March 1881

The melancholy loss of HMS Sirius off Norfolk Island 19 March 1790

The perilous situation of The Guardian Frigate as she appeared striking on the rocks of ice c1790

Theatre Royal destroyed by fire during Mrs Bernard Beer's season 1892

Today Beryl Morrin Lives A Normal Life 1938

Today Beryl Morrin Lives A Normal Life 1938

Tragic collision in the harbour between the mail steamer Tahiti and the ferry steamer Greycliffe, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 November 1927, p 16

Tram smash at Bondi Junction 1939

Tram smash at Bondi Junction 1939

Wreck of Dunbar, South Head c1862-1863

Wreck of the Edward Lombe 1834

Wreck of the Fifeshire (Terrigal) 1886

Wreck of the MV Malabar at Long Bay, April 1931

Wreck of the ‘Edward Lombe’ on Middle Head 1834

Dreadful Wreck 1857

Mr Pat Cullen recalls driving the police to accident scenes in his tow truck in the 1920s in Liverpool, interviewed 1986

Mrs Dorothy Colburn, interviewed in 1986, recalls hazards associated with the Georges River in the 1930s

Mrs Lillian Watson recalls an American Air Force plane crash during World War II, interviewed 1986

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Accidents and disasters

Dunbar shipwreck

In stormy weather, in the dark, after 81 days at sea, the Dunbar hit the rocks below The Gap, breaking up immediately. All but one on board were drowned, in one of the worst disasters in Sydney's history.

Eastern seaboard bushfires 1994

The bushfire season of 1994 was one of the worst in the history of New South Wales. Eight hundred blazes torched over 800,000 hectares of bushland from Batemans Bay to the Queensland border, with mass evacuations occurring in populated areas up and down the state. Three volunteer firefighters and one civilian lost their lives during the fires.

Egan, Marian

Born Mary Ann Cheers, daughter of two convicts, and widowed young, she remarried and became the wife of the Mayor of Sydney and a popular and sociable Sydney lady, before drowning in the Dunbar shipwreck, with her two children.

Granville rail disaster 1977

The Granville rail disaster on 18 January 1977 was the worst rail accident in Australian history. Eighty three people killed, and 210 were injured.

HMS Guardian

Wrecked en route to Australia, the Second Fleet storeship HMS Guardian left Britain carrying desperately needed stores for the infant settlement in New South Wales.

Luna Park Ghost Train fire 1979

The fire that broke out in the Ghost Train ride at Luna Park on the evening of 9 June 1979 claimed the lives of seven people.

Strathfield massacre 1991

The Strathfield massacre was a violent rampage undertaken by Wade Frankum at the shopping centre Strathfield Plaza in Sydney's inner western suburbs in 1991.

The Gap

Famed for its ocean views, the Gap has been a tourist attraction since the beginning of European settlement. It has also been the site of many suicides, and an important site of military installations.

The Life and Death of Joe Lynch

Had it not been for Kenneth Slessor's poem 'Five Bells', the death of Joe Lynch might have been just another drowning in Port Jackson, not the first, and regrettably not the last. Slessor's poem inspired John Olsen's 1963 painting, Five Bells, on permanent display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and his 1973 mural, Salute to Five Bells, installed in the northern foyer of the main concert hall at the Sydney Opera House. In the Royal Botanic Gardens near the Opera House gate, Guy Lynch's Satyr, modelled on Joe, looks out to sea to where his brother drowned and where the Manly Ferry passes on its daily route.

The wreck of the Edward Lombe

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.

Tram deaths

Trams, like other forms of transport, can be dangerous.

Transcript: Mr Pat Cullen recalls driving the police to accident scenes in his car in Liverpool

Mr Pat Cullen was born in 1912 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960' project. Here he describes his early days in the motor industry, which included driving the police to accident scenes.

Transcript: Mrs Dorothy Colburn recalls hazards associated with the Georges River

Mrs Dorothy Colburn, interviewed in 1986 for 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960' project, recalls hazards associated with the Georges River

Transcript: Mrs Lillian Watson recalls an American Air Force plane crash during World War II

Mrs Lillian Dulcie Watson was born in 1904 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Mrs Watson was witness to the crash of an American Air Force plane, due to engine failure over Hammondville, during World War II.

Boyd

A convict ship of 395 tons that brought convicts and passengers from Ireland in 1809. In November 1809 she sailed from Sydney Cove with goods and passengers on her way back to England via the Cape of Good Hope. She stopped to pick up timber at Whangaroa, New Zealand, where the ship's crew and most of the passengers were massacred after Te Ara, a Māori chief, was flogged onboard. Of the approximately 70 people on board, four survived, Ann Morley and three children, who were later rescued by Alexander Berry. The ship was looted and burned after gunpowder on board ignited. European whalers responded with revenge attacks on the Māori in March 1810, leading to further conflict.

full record »

Charles Eaton

Timber barque that was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef on 15 August 1834, en route from Sydney to Singapore. Most of the survivors of the wreck were attacked and killed by Torres Strait Islanders. Four children survived, and two of these, a former cabin boy, John Ireland, and a little boy who had been travelling with his parents, William D'Oyly, returned to Sydney in 1836.

full record »

Dunbar

Ship wrecked in 1857 off the Sydney Heads with a loss of 121 lives and only one survivor. It was described by the Sydney Morning Herald as 'a splendid vessel'.

full record »

Edward Lombe

full record »

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.

Hereward

full record »

Iron clipper of 1513 tons which traded between Britain and the colonies and was wrecked on the northern end of Maroubra Beach in 1898 though all 25 crew survived. The wreckage remained on the beach for several decades.

MV Malabar

Motorship of 4512 tons which operated between Melbourne, Sydney and Singapore carrying passengers, fruit and frozen meat. In 1931 negligence by Captain George Leslie lead to its grounding on rocks in Long Bay where it broke up and sank. Visiting the wreck was a popular outing for Sydneysiders. The ship itself was named after Malabar, Java Indonesia.

full record »

Maitland

Iron paddle steamer of 231 feet which was wrecked in 1898 on East Reef near Broken Bay. Of the 63 aboard 24 died, several as the rescue line broke.

full record »

SS Goolgwai

Minesweeper built during World War I which changed hands several times before operating from Sydney as a fishing trawler. Requisitioned as a minesweeper in World War II she returned to trawling in 1947 but was smashed on rocks at Little Bay and finally pounded to pieces.

full record »

SS Minmi

Collier which plied between Melbourne and Newcastle for almost 10 years before hitting the rocks at Cape Banks and breaking up with the loss of two lives. The stern section is still visible on the rock platform on the inside of Cape Banks.

full record »

SS Tekapo

Steamship which carried cargo and up to 133 passengers between India, New Zealand and Australia. In heavy fog it struck the southern headland at Maroubra and could not be salvaged so was sold for scrap.

full record »

TSS Belbowrie

Cargo ship 37 metres long which struck rocks at the southern end of Maroubra beach and broke up shortly afterwards.

full record »

1994 Eastern seaboard bushfires

Multiple fires along the east coast of New South Wales in the summer of 1993/1994 burned through about 800,000 hectares of land, including sections of Sydney suburbs and 40 national parks. Four people were killed.

full record »

Berala train accident 1952

Train accident at Berala station which occurred when, in heavy fog, a passenger train telescoped into the rear of another stopped at Berala station. Ten people were killed and over 140 injured.

full record »

Black Sunday surf rescue 1938

Mass surf rescue at Bondi Beach on Sunday 6 February 1938 after a backwash swept away a sandbank, carrying more than 200 people into deep water. Five people died and 35 were resuscitated by life savers, with hundreds more assisted.

full record »

Coogee Beach surf rescue 1911

full record »

Surf rescue attempt made by Harold Baker and James Clarken. The two men repeatedly plunged into heavy seas to rescue several people (variously reported as six to 14 people), however, four lives were lost. Baker noted that he and Clarken spotted several people in distress, and he jumped in the water fully clothed while Clarken followed with a life-line. Both men received medals from Royal Humane Society and 800 pounds was raised for their reward as well as 200 pounds for the relatives of those who had drowned.

Dandenong gale 1876

Storm considered one of the worst in Australia's history, named for a steamer lost off Jervis Bay, NSW, during the gale.

full record »

Dunbar shipwreck 1857

full record »

Shipwreck in which 121 people died, leading to the building of the Hornby lighthouse.

Granville rail disaster

full record »

Accident that occurred on 18 January 1877 when a crowded morning train travelling from the Blue Mountains to Central derailed and ran into the supports of an overhead road bridge at Granville. Eighty three people were killed and 210 injured.

Great fire in the city, October 1890

Disastrous fire that broke out at the printers Gibbs, Shallard & Co's premises in Hosking Place on the northern side of Moore Street on the morning of 2 October 1890. The surrounding city block, almost an hectare, was also destroyed, including a large number of warehouses and office buildings. With the destruction of so many buildings, the opportunity was taken to widen Moore Street, the first step to creating Martin Place.

full record »

Greycliffe shipwreck 1927

Collision between the Watsons Bay ferry Greycliffe and the Royal Mail steamer Tahiti that led to 40 deaths and dozens of injuries.

full record »

Haslams Creek railway accident 1858

Australia's first railway accident

full record »

Hawkesbury River flood 1867

Flood which destroyed property and livestock from Pitt Town to Wiseman's Ferry in June 1867 when water levels rose to 19 metres above the Windsor Bridge. Twelve people from the Eather family were killed.

full record »

Luna Park Ghost Train fire 1979

Fire which destroyed the Luna Park Ghost Train ride on the night of 9 June 1979, killing six children and one adult. The cause of the fire has never been established.

full record »

Rodney ferry accident 1938

On 13 February 1938 the ferry Rodney capsized and sank when its passengers gathered on one side to get a good view of the visiting USS Louisville. Sixteen drowned.

full record »

Anderson, Andrew

Sailor who survived the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. Anderson had tried to get ashore when the ship was wrecked on Middle Head but was thrown onto the rocks. Another wave had washed him off and he managed to catch hold of a cable and climb onto a higher rock, which he held onto until the survivors were rescued the next day.

full record »

Baker, Harold

full record »

Notable sportsman who won three New South Wales swimming championships in 1906 and captained the Australian water polo team. He played Rugby football for Australia three times against New Zealand. He also won boxing and wrestling championships and worked as a boxing referee. Once described as a 'man with a marble mouth and a jaw of steel. A man of ice with frozen eyes and a frozen voice', he became famous for his role in the Coogee Beach surf rescue of 1911.

Billings, Johnathon

Thirteen year old boy who, with three of his school friends and three members of another family, died in the Luna Park Ghost Train fire on 6 June 1979.

full record »

Bynon, William

Shopkeeper who assisted with the management of his wife's millinery business.

full record »

Cahuac, Gertrude Evans

Young woman who with her mother and brother, drowned in the wreck of the Dunbar in 1857.

full record »

Cahuac, Henry William

Young man who drowned in the wreck of the Dunbar in 1857.

full record »

Carroll, Richard Charles

Thirteen year old boy who, with three of his school friends and three members of another family, died in the Luna Park Ghost Train fire on 9 June 1979.

full record »

Clarken, James (Jimmy)

full record »

Tram driver and professional footballer from Glebe who became famous for his role rescuing several people, alongside his friend Harold Baker, in the Coogee Beach surf rescue of 1911.

Cranston, William

Sailor who survived the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834. He was described in newspaper reports of the disaster as a boy.

full record »

Cressy, Richard

Sailor who died in the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. His body was washed up near the wreck, at Mr Bass's shipyard, and was identified at an inquest by Thomas Marshall, the ship's first mate. A stout and athletic man between 40 and 50 years old, Cressy had been at the wheel when the ship entered the Heads, but had been washed away with the front part of the ship within five minutes of it striking the rocks at Middle Head.

full record »

Downie, John

Engineer who drowned when the tug Hero was sunk in 1940.

full record »

D’Oyley, William

Young boy who was one of the two survivors of the wreck of the Charles Eaton on the Great Barrier Reef in 1834. He had been travelling with his parents and brother. He was returned to Sydney where he was taken into care by Anne Slade before being returned to his extended family in England in 1838.

full record »

Egan, Marian

Second wife of Daniel Egan who perished in the Dunbar shipwreck.

full record »

Foden, Richard George

Shark attack victim who was attacked in the George River at Milperra.

full record »

Fraser, Eliza

Shipwreck victim whose experience after rescue by Aborigines became a source of many myths and misrepresentations.

full record »

Gibbs, Thomas

Surgeon who was a passenger on board the Edward Lombe when it was wrecked entering Sydney Harbour on 25 August 1834. He and the ship's second mate George Norman were killed when trying to fix a line from the boat to the shore at Middle Head during the storm. His body was found floating between the Heads. He was formally identified by the ship's first mate Thomas Marshall at an inquest on 6 September.

full record »

Godson, Craig

Five year old boy who, with his father John and brother Damien, died in the Luna Park Ghost Train fire on 9 June 1979, as his mother Jennifer waited outside the ride for them,

full record »

Godson, Damien

Six year old boy who, with his father John and little brother Craig, died in the Luna Park Ghost Train fire on 9 June 1979, as his mother Jennifer waited outside the ride for them,

full record »

Godson, Jennifer

Woman whose husband John and two young sons Damien and Craig died in the Luna Park Ghost Train fire on 9 June 1979 as she waited outside the ride for them with ice creams.

full record »

Godson, John

Man who was killed, with his two young sons, Damien and Craig, in the Luna Park Ghost Train fire on 9 June 1979, as his wife Jennifer waited outside the ride for them.

full record »

Greenhill, Thomas Tress

Passenger on the Edward Lombe who was killed when the ship was wrecked in Sydney Harbour in 1834. He had a brother in Sydney, Stephen Greenhill. He was named in all reports as being a passenger and had made other trips to Tasmania and Sydney prior to this voyage, but is described in a legal document dated November 1834 (so prior to news of the wreck reaching the UK) that is held in the East Sussex Record Office in England, as being a mate on the Edward Lombe en route to New South Wales. A death notice in the Scottish newspaper, the Fife Herald, on 5 March 1835, identifies a Peter Greenhill, the eldest son of the late Mr Greenhill, of Redcastle Mains, Ross Shire, Scotland, as being lost in the wreck, but this presumably was a case of mistaken identity.

full record »

Hayes, William

Rigger who was killed while working on the construction of Rose Bay hangar.

full record »

Hinks, Harold

Child found electrocuted in the front garden of Cyril and Violet McKenzie's home in Greenwich in 1934.

full record »

Hinks, Leslie

Businessman and father of Harold Hinks, who died after being electrocuted in the garden of Cyril and Violet McKenzie in Greenwich. Flying home from Kalgoorlie for the boy's funeral in the 'Miss Southern Cross', he was killed when the plane crashed near Yerranderie in New South Wales.

full record »

Hurst, Eric Alfred

Pilot who crashed and died in Tamarama Bay in 1946.

full record »

Johnson, Michael David

Thirteen year old boy who, with three of his school friends and three members of another family, died in the Luna Park Ghost Train fire on 9 June 1979.

full record »

Jones, Mrs

Passenger who survived the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834. She was travelling from London with her husband, a solicitor, after their marriage had been objected to by his parents. Her brother travelled with them, but neither he nor her husband survived the disaster. It is not clear from the reports of the wreck which of the other victims was her brother. Left with nothing after the wreck, she was taken in by Sydney's society. She returned to London in October 1834 on the Caroline where she opened a tobacconist's shop on the City Road.

full record »

Kemp, Charles

Passenger who died in the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. He appears to have joined the ship at Hobart, ten days before the disaster. His body was found washed up near the wreck with that of seaman James Starkie. Both men were formally identified by the first mate Thomas Marshall at an inquest on 6 September. Their remains were very decomposed when found, and the treatment their bodies received on their way to burial caused a public outcry.

full record »

Knight, Austin

Hairdresser who was a passenger on the Edward Lombe and died when it was wrecked in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. When the crew were taking the passengers up on deck in the hope of rescue he refused to leave his cabin and was never seen again.

full record »

Lang, Thomas

Sailor who survived the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834.

full record »

Lawson, Henry

Carpenter and sailor who was a survivor of the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834.

full record »

McCutcheon, Wallace John

Young man who was attacked by a shark whilst swimming outside the enclosure at East Hills on the Georges River.

full record »

Morrin, Beryl Gladys

Girl who lost her arms when she was attacked by a shark while swimming in the Georges River at Kentucky on 31 December 1934.

full record »

Norman, George

Sailor who died in the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. He had been the second mate. He and a passenger, surgeon Thomas Gibbs, died while trying to fix a line from the ship to the shore at Middle Head during the storm. His remains were found near Chowder Bay, and he was identified an an inquest on 9 September 1834 by the ship's first mate Thomas Marshall. He was buried at Devonshire Street cemetery.

full record »

Pratt, Robert

Sailor who survived the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834.

full record »

Rahilly, Seamus

Thirteen year old boy who, with three of his school friends and three members of another family, died in the Luna Park Ghost Train fire on 9 June 1979.

full record »

Starkey, James

Sailor who died in the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. His body was found washed up near the wreck with that of passenger Charles Kemp. Both were formally identified by the first mate Thomas Marshall at an inquest on 6 September. Their remains were very decomposed when found, and the treatment the bodies received on their way to burial caused a public outcry.

full record »

Stroyan, Stuart

Ship's captain who died in the wreck of his ship, the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. His widow and three young children lived in London, and donations were taken up in Sydney after the disaster for their benefit. His wife's young brother, Henry Weatherhead, had been one of his crew and was one of the survivors of the wreck.

full record »

Sutherland, Henry

Sailor who was one of the survivors of the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834.

full record »

Swan, John

Ship's captain. In 1834 he was the captain of the cutter the Venus, owned by Sydney businessman John Mackie. Returning from the South Coast, he and the ship's crew were instrumental in the rescue of 17 survivors of the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour. In late February 1836 Swan, the three crew members and six passengers, were all lost when the ship the Swan, owned by Swan and Mackie, foundered near Wollongong. Wreckage was found on Seven Mile Beach in late March, including a doghouse associated with the ship. Swan was described in the press as 'a young man of the most exemplary character'.

full record »

Taylor, Thomas

Sailor who survived the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834.

full record »

Tebbutt, William

Sailor who died in the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. His younger brother Henry who was travelling on the ship as a passenger survived the wreck.

full record »

Terrence, Joseph

Sailor who survived the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834.

full record »

Thompson, Clyde William

Two year old boy who died on 15 February 1927 after being bitten by a Sydney funnel-web spider while he was sitting on the laundry steps at his home in Clifford Avenue, Thornleigh. His death was the first attributed to the spider.

full record »

Weatherhead, Henry

Boy who was a crew member and survivor of the wreck of the Edward Lombe. He was the younger brother of the wife of the ship's captain, Stuart Stroyan. After the wreck he was sent to the school of a Mr Trood in Kent Street until other arrangements could be made for his welfare, where the other boys took up a donation for him.

full record »

Wilson, William

Sailor who was one of the survivors of the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834.

full record »

Young, Richard

Sailor who was one of the survivors of the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834.

full record »

Younghusband, Henry

Sailor who survived the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834. He was described in reports of the disaster as a boy.

full record »

Malabar Shipwrecks site

North Point at Long Bay has claimed two ships partly through negligence but with no loss of life.

full record »

SS Minmi shipwreck site

Rocky platform at Cape Banks near La Perouse which still supports the stern section of the ship which was wrecked in 1937.

full record »

Shipwrecks sites, Maroubra

Maroubra beach and headlands have been the site of numerous maritime disasters which have been recorded in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries though little physical evidence remains today.

full record »

Air Accident Memorial

Memorial in the form of plaques around the base of a flagpole, to commemorate two airmen killed in a training accident above Petersham Public school during World War II.

full record »

Wreck of the 'Edd Lalm' [Edward Lombe] On Middle Head Fort Jackson 1834

full record »

By

Oswald Walters B Brierly

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

'Ferry Steamer Sunk' The Argus, November 4 1927, p 15

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.news-article3889383]

'The Inundations at Marrickville: Rescuing the Homeless' May 1889

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.news-page5789381]

(Illustrated Sydney News, 6 June 1889 p 14)

A Shark Took Beryl Morrin's Arms 1938

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[PIX, 14 May 1938 p15, via Trove]

A pedestrian is injured when knocked down by a Kings Cross tram 1930s

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_01809 / Home and Away 1809]

(Mitchell Library)

Ambrotype of John Pascoe, third officer on the Dunbar, 1850-1857

full record »

Contributed By

Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

(Royal Australian Historical Society Collection)

Beryl Morrin, who lost both arms as a result of a shark attack in the Georges River on New Year's Eve, with a nurse at Canterbury ...

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_11846 / Home & Away 11846]

(Mitchell Library)

Coogee Surf Tragedy: Four Lives Lost, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1 February 1911, p24)

Crowds viewing the Hereward, aground at Maroubra c1898

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Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

[Acc No: H99.220/3951]

Demolition of buildings after fire in the city 2 October 1890

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[DL PXX 65, 86]

(Dixson Library)

Demolition of buildings in Moore Street after fire, 7 October 1890

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[DL PXX 65, 77]

(Dixson Library)

Destruction of the City Bank building at 106 Pitt St after the great fire, 2 October 1890

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By

Charles Bayliss

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[DL PXX 65, 93]

(Dixson Library)

Diver Rescue From Canal: Caught In Silt, 3 January 1946

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.news-article17965592]

(Sydney Morning Herald, 3 January 1946, p4)

Floods in New South Wales - Windsor at nightfall June 1867

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Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

[IAN27/07/67/8]

Granville rail disaster 18 January 1977

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Contributed By

Blue Mountains City Library

Granville rail disaster 18 January 1977

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Contributed By

Blue Mountains City Library

Granville rail disaster 18 January 1977

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Contributed By

Blue Mountains City Library

Gravestone 'Sacred to the memory of William Yardley, who lost his life by the bite of a Snake on the 5th of December 1824' in Devonshire ...

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[PXB 768/Vol. 3, p17]

(File 03: Church of England section, Devonshire Street (Sand Hills) Cemetery, Sydney, Book Three, 1901 / photographs by Mrs A. G. Foster, Mitchell Library)

Greycliffe House in Vaucluse after the fire, 1897

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By

Albert James Perier

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[perier_34367 / Home and Away - 34367]

HMAS Sydney feared sunk - Most Secret memo to the Prime Minister 26 November 1941

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Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A5954, 2400/21]

HMAS Sydney reported overdue 25 November 1941

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By

Frederick Shedden

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A5954, 2400/21]

Harold Baker, one of the heroes of the Coogee surf tragedy, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1 February 1911, p24)

Her Majesty's Theatre Fire, 1902

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a2264002 / DL PXX 73/12-14]

(Dixson Library)

Heroism in the Surf: Bondi Death Wave 6 February 1938

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Sun, 7 February 1938, p1]

Huge wave at Bondi 6 February 1938

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Sun, 7 February 1938, p1 (detail)]

Inquest begins on Luna Park 1979

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Bulletin 26 June 1979 p34 via Trove]

James Clarken, whose splendid work was largely instrumental in saving several lives at Coogee, Sydney Mail, 1 February 1911

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1 February 1911, p24)

James Johnson, survivor of the wreck of the Dunbar 1857

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By

Thomas Skelton Glaister

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a128698 / DG 300]

(Dixson Galleries)

Juvenile Sympathy 1834

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Sydney Herald 8 September 1834 p1 via Trove]

Letter received from William Hill, Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, 26 July 1790 (copy made in 1791)

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Transcript:
Copy of a Letter from W. Hill to Jonathan Watham Esqr. of Bond Court, Walbrook London
dated Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, 26th. July 1790

Dear Sir,

Fain wou'd I give you my warmest Thanks, and tell you of the great affection I bear you for those genuine, disinterested and animated Exertions of Kindness, you poured upon me, when I wanted your Assistance; but my Pen is even incompetent to give you a faint Idea, how high the pulse of Gratitude beats within me; my Heart, I hope is too honest not to look on Flatterers in a very despicable point of View; tho' it cannot but approve of Eulogy, which is no other than paying a just Tribute of Praise; and my mind wou'd feel an insupportable Burthen, were I not permitted to evince you its sense of Love and Duty, for so worthy a Benefactor; - I thought it my duty to write to Mr Wilberforce, giving him the underneath account of our Voyage, and the situation of this Colony; I mean not to intrude, and hope I have not done wrong, if I have, I can only lament it, and plead in excuse that I had not you to Consult.

It would be tedious to enumerate the variableness of the Winds, and trifling Occurrences that happened in our rout to the Cape; I will therefore only Remark, that we sailed from Cowes harbour (Isle of Wight) the seventeenth of January, and arrived in False Bay, Cape of Good Hope the thirteenth of April; that our Voyage might be deemed a very Prosperous one, so far as we pass'd the Line with few Calms; and those of short duration, nor had we any bad Weather, 'till we came in sight of that tremendous Promontory; (well might its Discoverer, Bartholomew Diaz, name it Cabo de Tormentoso, or the Stormy;) we met so violent a Tempest, which continued for six and thirty Hours, that left us no Room even to hope an Escape from a Watry Grave; It being the winter season at our Arrival, was the reason of our anchoring in false Bay, as the safest Harbour; otherwise Table bay in fine Weather, or in the Summer Season is much to be prefer'd; being contiguous to the Cape Town; we found the Dutch, answer minutely the Character given of them by Travellers; a Change of Clime, which is generally believ'd to produce a Change of Constitution & Disposition had not abated one Tittle of their Propensity to Avarice; their Governors are Merchants, and monopolize the whole Stock of the adjacent Country, and will not supply the Shipping but at an advance of five or six Hundred per cent.

Here I had some Conversation with the unfortunate Mr Riou (of the Guardian), the Loss of his Ship, will be severely felt by this Colony; and I much fear the Dutch are taking every Advantage, of his situation, charging enormous sums for Wharehouse room, and fresh Provisions for the Crew; so that the Cargo must, ere now be insufficient to defray the Cost - We left the Cape, the twenty ninth of April, and anchor'd in this beautiful Harbour the twenty sixth of June; Wou'd I cou'd draw an eternal Shade over the Remembrance of this miserable Part of our Voyage, miserable - not so much in itself, as render'd so by the Villiany, oppression and shameful Peculation of the masters of the Transports. - The Bark I was on board of, was indeed, unfit, from her make & size, to be sent to so great a Distance; if it blew but a trifling Gale, she was Lost in the Waters; of which she shipp'd so much, that from the Cape, the unhappy Wretches, the Convicts, were considerably above their waists in Water; and the men of my Company, whose Births were not so far forward, were nearly up to their middles; in this situation they were obliged, for the safety of the Ship, to be pen 'd down; but when the Gales abated, no means were used to purify the air by Fumigations, no vinegar was applied, to rectify the nauseous steams, issuing from their miserable Dungeons; Humanity shudders to think that of nine hundred male Convicts embark'd in this Fleet, three Hundred and seventy are already Dead, & four hundred & fifty are landed sick, and so emaciated and helpless, that very few, or any of them, can be saved by care or medecine; so that sooner it pleases God to remove them, the Better it will be for this Colony; which is not in a situation to bear any Burthen; as I imagine the Medicine Chest to be nearly exhausted and Provisions are a scarce Article.

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a136001 / SAFE/MLMSS 6821, page 1]

(Mitchell Library)

Letter to the editor of the Sydney Times on the loss of the Edward Lombe 1834

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Sydney Times, 29 August 1834, p2 via Trove]

Life's Tragedy: announcement in Smith's Weekly of Joe Lynch's death, 1927

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Smiths Weekly 21 May 1927 p3, via Trove]

Man carrying an injured boy at Fort Macquarie after Greycliffe disaster 3 November 1927

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By

Contributed By

Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons

[Object no. 00035194]

(Samuel J. Hood Studio Collection)

Manly ferry 'Bellubera' fire 1936

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_13287 / Home and Away 13287]

Melancholy Accident - report of the drowning of Willam and Mary Cavendish during regatta on Anniversary Day 26 January 1839

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[news-article31722464]

(The Colonist, 30 January 1839, p3)

Page of Edward Riou's logbook of the voyage of HMS Guardian 23 November 1789

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a2685096 / MLMSS 5711/1 (Safe 1/233a)]

(Volume 1 of Edward Riou's logbook of the voyage of HMS Guardian 21 April 1789 - 5 May 1790 in Series 1: Papers Concerning Edward Riou 1789-1808) (Mitchell Library)

Part of the Crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the Boats 1790

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a1528530 / PXD 742/2]

(Mitchell Library)

Part of the reef in Sydney Bay, Norfolk Island, on which the Sirius was wreck'd, 19 March 1790

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By

William Bradley

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a3461022 / Safe 1/14, opp p 195]

(Drawings from his journal 'A Voyage to New South Wales', 1802+)

Plan showing area damaged in the great fire of October 1890

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(from Late fire in Pitt-Street (coronial inquiry respecting) : ordered by the Legislative Assembly to be printed, 17 December, 1890, Sydney : Charles Potter, Govt. Printer, 1891., Mitchell Library)

Poetry. Original. Lines suggested by the wreck of the 'Edward Lombe' 1835

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Attributed to X when first published in the Sydney Times, the poem was published as 'The Wreck of the Edward Lombe' in an anthology of writings by William Woolls, 'Miscellanies in Prose and Verse' in 1838.

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Sydney Times, 23 January 1835, p4 via Trove]

Report on the Coroner's Inquest and the burials of of Thomas Gibbes, Charles Kemp and James Starkie of the Edward Lombe 6 September ...

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[Sydney Gazette, 9 September 1834, p2 via Trove]

Resuscitation work being carried out by lifesavers and helpers, Bondi Beach 6 February 1938

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Sun, 7 February 1938, p1 (detail)]

Shark attack survivor Beryl Morrin arranging flowers at her home in Bass Hill May1938

full record »

By

Ivan Wilfrid Ive

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 388/Box 032/Item 263]

(Mitchell Library)

Sketch of Edward Lombe from part of wreck, Middle Head, New South Wales 1834

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[PIC Drawer 61 #R212]

St Mary's Cathedral after the fire in 1865

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a325067 / SPF/1067]

(Mitchell Library)

Steam crane raises the ferry Greycliffe after it had capsized, 1927

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a230009 / PXE 789 (v.21), 12]

(Mitchell Library)

Surfing tragedy at Bondi 6 February 1938

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Sydney Mail, 9 February 1938, p18 via Trove]

Sydney Shark Tragedy, January 1946

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.news-article22220804 via Trove]

(The Argus (Melbourne, VIC), 7 January 1946, p1)

The Belmore bus accident at the Cooks River Bridge, Canterbury during the late heavy rains and floods in Sydney June 1889

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Australian Town and Country Journal, 8 June 1889, p27)

The Burning of the Garden Palace Sydney, September 22, 1882, as seen from Macquarie Street

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[PIC Drawer 2505 #S3158]

(Supplement to the Illustrated Sydney News, 25 October 1882)

The Hero of Coogee Beach 1922

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The School Magazine, Part III for Class VI, May 1 1922, p1 via Trove]

The collapse of the old Glebe Island Bridge, August 1899

full record »

Contributed By

Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons

[Object no. 00002330]

The explosion of Mr L'Estrange's balloon near Sydney 15 March 1881

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928612 / MDQ 079/33 (Printed Books Collection)]

(The Australasian Sketcher, 9 April 1881, p.116, Mitchell Library)

The melancholy loss of HMS Sirius off Norfolk Island 19 March 1790

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an21511971]

The perilous situation of The Guardian Frigate as she appeared striking on the rocks of ice c1790

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a1528527 / ML 1112 (a)]

(Mitchell Library)

Theatre Royal destroyed by fire during Mrs Bernard Beer's season 1892

full record »

By

Albert James Perier

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[perier_34602 / Home and Away 34602]

(Mitchell Library)

Today Beryl Morrin Lives A Normal Life 1938

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[PIX, 14 May 1938 p15, via Trove]

Today Beryl Morrin Lives A Normal Life 1938

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[PIX, 14 May 1938, p17, via Trove]

Tragic collision in the harbour between the mail steamer Tahiti and the ferry steamer Greycliffe, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 November ...

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.news-article16416184]

Tram smash at Bondi Junction 1939

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_19452 / Home and Away 19452]

Tram smash at Bondi Junction 1939

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_19451 / Home and Away 19451]

Wreck of Dunbar, South Head c1862-1863

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By

Samuel Thomas Gill

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a939035 / PXA 1983, f.34]

(Mitchell Library)

Wreck of the Edward Lombe 1834

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As Martens did not arrive in Sydney until 1835, this may actually be a depiction of the shipwrecked Dunbar in 1857, when large portions of the wreckage were carried into Middle Harbour.

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[DL PXX 12,f.14]

(Dixson Library)

Wreck of the Fifeshire (Terrigal) 1886

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By

Contributed By

[Page 23b]

(from the album 'Works by Members of the Amateur Photographic Society of N.S.W presented by the Society to His Excellency Lord Carrington August 1886')

Wreck of the MV Malabar at Long Bay, April 1931

full record »

By

Eleanor Georgina Shaw

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a7855001 / PXA 1642, item 69, 1]

(Mitchell Library)

Wreck of the ‘Edward Lombe’ on Middle Head 1834

full record »

As Martens did not arrive in Sydney until 1835, this may actually be a depiction of the shipwrecked Dunbar in 1857, when large portions of the wreckage were carried into Middle Harbour.

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Dixson Library)

Dreadful Wreck 1857

full record »

By

Contributed By

(Recorded in 2007)

Mr Pat Cullen recalls driving the police to accident scenes in his tow truck in the 1920s in Liverpool, interviewed 1986

full record »

Mr Pat Cullen was born in 1912 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960' project. Here he describes his early days in the motor industry, which included driving the police to accident scenes.

Transcript

PAT: Left school when I was fourteen and started working for a fellow named Billy Norman in the main street of Liverpool, which was down near the post office there was a garage was at that particular time. How I got the job as a mechanic, my dad bought a new Buick motorcar to bribe this fellow to give me a job.

INTERVIEWER: From Norman?

PAT: From Norman's. ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s how I started in the motor game. I was fourteen then, that was in 1927, when the first Model A Fords came out.

INTERVIEWER: There wouldn't have been too many cars in Liverpool then?

PAT: No, very few. In fact, the police didn't have a car. And while I was only fourteen or fifteen, I learned to drive an old tow wagon, very well, and when there was any accidents, which was unusual, that there were accidents, I used to drive the police in the tow truck to the accident. Two or three years after that I went for my license. They were quite amazed, to think that I'd been driving around with the police, with no license.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mr Pat Cullen from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Mrs Dorothy Colburn, interviewed in 1986, recalls hazards associated with the Georges River in the 1930s

full record »

Mrs Dorothy Colburn, interviewed in 1986 for 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900-1960' project, recalls hazards associated with the George's River.

Transcript

DOROTHY: We use to have to stand on the river bank and coo-ee to the relations that lived on the other side for them to bring the boat over to us. But when they started to build the first Milperra Bridge, I walked across a plank that wide [showing how wide] that the workmen used to use and I wasn't game to look down, just hung onto the back of Dad's shirt. That was just after a young chap was taken by a shark by the side of the river.

INTERVIEWER: When would that have been, do you recall?

DOROTHY I can't tell you exactly the year, somewhere around '29. He dived off the other side of the river, and he was mauled dreadfully; and the same day, my cousin's friend, used to ride the horses to school with her, her arms were chopped off, one just above the elbow and the other one just below the elbow and they thought it was the same shark. She had been in swimming at Kentucky, what they called Kentucky. It's just past where the aerodrome is now, where the golf links is. She'd been lying up on the bank in the sand, and her mother woke her up - she'd gone to sleep - woke her up, and said 'Come on, we're going home' and she said 'Well I can't get in the car like this' 'cause she had all sand on her, and she went down and stood in water no higher than her knees and swished her arms and he grabbed both arms. They reckon he come up out of the water. And he took both her arms. She's married and got a family, living up Newcastle way, somewhere there. She was marvellous, didn't seem to stop her, she still rode the horses, and she wouldn't let anyone help her.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Detail from interview with Dorothy Colburn, from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Mrs Lillian Watson recalls an American Air Force plane crash during World War II, interviewed 1986

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Mrs Lillian Dulcie Watson was born in 1904 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Mrs Watson was witness to the crash of an American Air Force plane, due to engine failure over Hammondville, during World War II.
Transcript

INTERVIEWER: Do you recall the plane crashing?

LILLIAN: Down the back here? Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Can you tell me a bit about that?

LILLIAN: Yes, I can remember that quite well. It was night time, or dusk, and an air raid warning went and of course the next thing you see all these planes and this plane came round over the house and you could sort of hear the wheels, it wasn't very far off the roof. The next thing we heard Bang! Of course all the kids were out like a shot out of a gun, they were going no matter what happened, they were going to see what happened, and of course they came home and all the tales they came home to tell us. Some gruesome tales they were, some of them. Anyhow, they came home and they had bullets, all sorts of bits and pieces they had, they brought home for souvenirs. I didn't know what to do about them. 'Well' I said, 'You're not taking them into the house, you can put them out in the shed.' A couple of days afterwards, a chap came knocking on the door. He was an American negro, and he said to me 'You got children?', a very abrupt sort of a man he was. I said 'Yes' . He said 'Have they been down the scrub (as he called it)?' And I said 'Oh yes, naturally,' I said, 'All the children have been down there.' He said 'Have they brought anything home from the wreck?'. I said 'Yes'. He said 'You know you can't have them. They belong to the American camp.' I said 'Oh well, you better come and take them'. So he came out and he had a big box and he lumbered all this stuff into the box and he said 'Thank you, you'll hear more about this.' I said 'Oh boy'. So when Don [son] came home from school, because the first thing, all the kids dive out to the shed to see all their souvenirs. And he came in and he said 'What happened to all our things'. I said 'Oh, a chap came and took them all away.' 'Oh, he had no right to do that, we found them!' But they took them just the same; but he never ever came back, we never heard any more about it.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mrs Lillian Watson from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith)

Events