SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
August 28:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1842: A fierce north-westerly gale hit Table Bay in the Western Cape resulting in several vessels being grounded, such as the Hamilton Ross and possibly the Saldanha Bay packet. However, the wrecking of the Abercrombie Robison and the Waterloo were the most prominent:
The Abercrombie Robinson was a troop transport ship on its way from Dublin, Ireland to Algoa Bay with over 600 troops and crew as well as 80 women and children on board. The Waterloo was a convict transport ship on its way from England to Australia with 304 people on board consisting of 219 convicts, 36 crew, 31 guards, 5 women and 13 children. Both vessels were driven ashore near each other, at the Salt River mouth, in Table Bay. While the Abercrombie Robinson was a sound vessel, the Waterloo was an old ship and began to break up rapidly.
Most of the people onshore were focused on rendering aid to the Abercrombie Robinson as it was the first ship to run into trouble and signal for assistance, with the plight of the Waterloo at first going unnoticed. The Abercrombie Robinson was sound enough to enable all of those on board to be rescued and it has been said that the discipline of those on board assisted in the successful rescue. However, by the time attention was shifted to the Waterloo it had broken up to such an extent that it was dangerous for rescue boats to approach.
The desperate cries for help could be heard from the shore but unable to help, the would-be rescuers could only stand and watch as it broke apart and many of the souls on board disappeared beneath the big waves. A few boats helped rescue some survivor while others were able to swim ashore through raging seas, but the loss of life was enormous, particularly among the convicts who were kept below decks until the last moment; 143 drowned, with fourteen members of the crew, fifteen of the 99th Regiment, four soldiers’ wives and fourteen soldiers’ children.
Waterloo wrecking
Cape Town was rocked by a tragedy of this scale and the British Admiralty came under scrutiny for the use of a ship in such a bad condition. It was reported that the ship was known to be rotten and leaking badly, the dampness and appalling conditions resulted in to an outbreak of scurvy. The public outcry in the aftermath of the event led to the people of Cape Town to raise money for the building of a suitable lifeboat and rescue apparatus, the first thereof in the Cape.
Waterloo wrecking
1849: Geortryder/Geertryda, this vessel was abandoned near Agulhas Point in the Western Cape with it later being driven ashore and disappearing beneath the waves.
1868: Nundeeps, this wooden-hulled schooner wrecked in a south-easterly gale at the Buffalo River Mouth in East London in the Eastern Cape.
1913: Lindo, this Norwegian barque disappeared after leaving Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.
1958: Erica, this motor powered fishing vessel ran aground and wrecked on Robben Island in Table Bay in the Western Cape.
1970: Stralenberg, this South African fishing vessel foundered in the East London harbour in the Eastern Cape and was later blown up by the SA Navy.
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