The _Brier Holme_ came to a tragic end in 1904. She sailed from London
for Hobart in September of that year, commanded by Captain Rich, an
experienced and skilful seaman who was making his last voyage. She
was three months overdue and much anxiety was being felt, when some
fishermen landed on a bleak and unfrequented part of the West Coast of
Tasmania. They found some jetsam on the shore in the shape of packages
of cargo, marked and numbered so that they could be identified.
Footprints and the remains of a rude hut also pointed to a wreck on
the coast; a close search was made but no signs of the wreck or of
life could be found. The fishermen then took the packages back to
Hobart and they proved to be part of the cargo of the _Brier Holme_.
Thereupon the Government sent out a steamer with a search party. The
remains of the wreck were found under water, but though the bush was
scoured, fires lighted and guns fired to attract attention, no survivor
was discovered, and the search party returned to Hobart. Some weeks
later the fishermen who had found the packages landed again on the
coast and found a man, who proved to be the sole survivor out of the
_Brier Holme’s_ crew. He had been wandering about in the bush trying
to find his way to the nearest habitation, first loading himself with
provisions washed up from the wreck, he had tried to construct a raft
across a river but without success, and he was continually compelled
to return to the shore and replenish his stores. He reported that the
_Brier Holme_ arrived off the S.W. Cape of Tasmania at night during
thick stormy weather and was hove to to wait for daylight. But being to
the north of the Fairway having overrun her distance, she crashed on to
the rocks and soon went to pieces.
The _Castle Holme_ is now owned in Frederickstadt, Norway, and sails
under the name of _Estar_.
Iron Barques of Walker and Trinder, Anderson.
Hine Bros. were not the only owners of iron clipper barques in the
Australian trade. Mr. T. B. Walker had four very well-known ships—the
barques _Westbury_, _Decapolis_ and _Lanoma_ and the ship _Barossa_;
whilst Trinder, Anderson & Co. had the _Barunga_, _Oriana_, _Mineru_,
_Morialta_ and _Kooringa_.
Of the above, Walker’s _Lanoma_ was probably the fastest. She has been
credited with a run from Tasmania to the Horn in 21 days, another of
21 days from the Horn to the line, and again a third of 21 days from
the line to soundings, which if they had all been on the same passage
would have given her the record from Tasmania home. The _Westbury_ and
_Decapolis_ were both good for an outward passage round about 80 days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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