SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
June 1:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
We report on this day the wrecking anniversaries of 23 vessels. However, it must be emphasized that when the date of wrecking is not known it is often given as the having occurred on either the 1st of January, or if it is known to have occurred around winter, on the 1st of June. As more research is conducted on our Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage, these dates will become more refined. At the moment we have it recorded that six of these 23 vessels wrecked on this day, and the other 17 will require more research to determine their wrecking dates accurately.
1630: São Gonҫalo, this wooden Portuguese galleon was lost in a south-easterly gale while undergoing repairs in Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape. The São Gonçalo was a Portuguese merchant vessel which was homeward bound from Goa in India to Lisbon carrying a cargo of pepper, spices, and Chinese porcelain. It was a very large ship, thought to be around 2000 tons, heavy with cargo, when it started leaking badly. The shelter of the Robberg Peninsula provided calmer seas in which to unload some of the cargo and commence repairs to its hull. Roughly 100 crew members including the captain and 5 friars set up a camp on the beach with the remaining 130 men staying on board to carry out the repairs.
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| In 2017 the MUCH unit conducted a magnetometer survey to look for any signs of the wreck of the São Gonҫalo (1630) |
After approximately 7 weeks a large storm hit the bay and the ship was quickly broken up with all men on board perishing. The survivors on the shore set about making the camp more permanent including constructing a wooden church and other smaller workshops and dwellings. The survivors decided to construct 2 smaller sailing vessels from the wreckage that had washed ashore. One of these would sail back to India, and the other would head for home. After approximately 8 months the survivors set off on their journeys, the ship heading for India made it to Mozambique where they waited for a Portuguese vessel to pick them up. The ship sailing for Portugal was picked up by another vessel, the Santo Ignacio de Loyola, which a year later made it back to Lisbon ironically to be wrecked within sight of the port. The fates of the various São Gonçalo survivors is unclear as there are contradicting reports regarding what happened to those on board.
In 1979 the Jerling family were clearing a plot of land for development next to the peninsula at the southern end of Robberg beach when they started to notice large amounts of porcelain turning up in the soil. They collected what they could and reported the finds to the authorities. The artefacts consisted of Chinese porcelain, beads, flint flakes, musket balls, mother of pearl spoons, a religious medal, a coin, metal fittings and incense sticks. Subsequent excavations, surveys and analysis of the finds led to the conclusion that the survivor’s camp was Portuguese in origin and evidence pointed to it being that of the São Gonçalo.
In 2017 SAHRA’s MUCH team took part in a joint initiative with the African Centre for Heritage Activities and the Plettenberg Bay Ski Boat Club to try and locate the remains of the wreck. A magnetometer survey was conducted on a large area around the Robberg Peninsula and closer to the beach to see if any magnetic anomalies, that might indicate a shipwreck, could be detected. Unfortunately, the survey did not pick up anything of significance, but further work may yet still uncover something of significance.
1773: Jonge Thomas, this Dutch East Indiaman wrecked after its cables parted in north-westerly gale in Table Bay in the Western Cape. This wreck is famous for the bravery of a local farmer, Wolraad Woltemade, who astride his horse Vonk, repeatedly entered the sea to reach the wreck of the ship and bring back as many men as his horse could carry. On the 7th visit to the wreck, too many panicked men tried to grab onto the horse and rider, dragging them under the waves, and they drowned. In total Woltemade saved 14 lives and his bravery, and that of his horse, has been commemorated numerous times including a statue dedicated to them in a cemetery in Cape Town. As for the 191 that were on board, 53 survived, 14 of which were saved by Woltemade.
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| "Death of Woltemade at the Cape of Good Hope, 1773" by Nicolaas van Frankendaal in 1775 |
1850: Arab, this wooden British barque sprang a leak and foundered after its cables parted in a north-westerly storm in Table Bay in the Western Cape.
1916: Limpopo, this coaster was abandoned at sea after its engine room flooded, off the KwaZulu-Natal coast. The vessel was never seen again and is presumed to have foundered.
1943: Salabangka, this steam-powered Dutch freighter was sunk after damage sustained by a torpedo from U-178 off the KwaZulu-Natal coastline. The explosion from the torpedo killed 10 men and destroyed some of the lifeboats. The remaining 75 crew members were picked up and landed in Durban. Attempts were made to tow the Salabangka back to port, but a further explosion occurred and it sank, just south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. The wreck can be dived on, but it lies at a depth of 60m and is recommended for experienced tech divers only.
1984: Interwaves, this South African transport boat foundered near Hout Bay in the Western Cape after its engine failed.
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| The MS Interwaves (1984) in its final moments |
Comments:
Pete Bower
To describe the Interwaves as a "transport boat" is a bit of a stretch. At the time of her sinking she had been modified into a party boat (aka pleasure cruiser). For whatever reason, l think related to permits and licenses, the venture never got off the ground and she remained tied up alongside for a year or so, idle. With all the attendant ongoing costs accumulating monthly. Some believed that her engine failure and sinking were therefore, shall we say, not unexpected.
Constantia Berg wreck in Hout Bay
2002: An Airquaris Aviation Hawker Siddeley 748 (registration no. ZS-OJU), crashed into the Outeniquea mountains near George after missing its first approach due to bad weather, killing the two pilots and the one passenger that was on board. This event is well known as the passenger that lost his life was Hansie Cronje.
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| The ZS-OJU crash site |
The following vessels require more research, but we know that they wrecked around this time:
1552: São Jeronimo, this wooden Portuguese East Indiaman wrecked north of Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal with no survivors. It was sailing in the company of the São João before they became separated.
1611: Yeanger van Horne, this wooden Flemish sailing vessel wrecked either on Robben Island or possibly on a beach in Table Bay in the Western Cape.
1862: Asia, this British sailing vessel foundered off the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape.
1867: Belvedere, this sailing barque was lost near Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.
1867: Otago, this sailing barque ran aground and wrecked somewhere in Table Bay in the Western Cape.
1868: Anna Maria, this wooden sailing cutter was lost in Table Bay in the Western Cape.
1869: Western Province, this sailing schooner was lost near Port Beaufort in the Western Cape.
1875: Albany, this tug boat was lost near Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape.
1899: Waikato, this vessel foundered off Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape.
1959: Tryme, this motor-powered South African fishing vessel ran aground and wrecked somewhere on the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape.
1959: Rebecca, this motor-powered South African fishing vessel wrecked on Robben Island in the Western Cape.
1960: Capensis, this motor-powered trawler was scuttled by gunfire in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.
1962: Adelaar, this South African coaster was scuttled near Robben Island in the Western Cape.
1968: Gussy, this motor-powered South African fishing vessel wrecked after its hull was damaged near Hout Bay in the Western Cape.
1968: Jasmien, this motor-powered South African fishing vessel capsized and foundered near the Breede River mouth in the Western Cape.
1974: Dora K, this motor-powered South African fishing vessel ran aground and wrecked in Struisbaai in the Western Cape.
1977: Adore, this motor-powered South African fishing vessel foundered in heavy weather near Kommetjie in the Western Cape.
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