Cataraqui Disaster
The Cataraqui Disaster refers to the tragic shipwreck of the Cataraqui, which occurred on August 4, 1845, near King Island, Australia. The ship was en route to Melbourne, carrying over 400 passengers and crew, primarily British emigrants seeking a new life in Australia. The Cataraqui struck a reef during a storm, leading to its disintegration and resulting in the loss of nearly all aboard, with only nine survivors, eight of whom were crew members. This incident marks the worst maritime disaster in Australian history, deeply impacting the communities in the Australian colonies, particularly Melbourne, where numerous fund-raising efforts emerged to support the survivors.
The ship had originally been built in Quebec and repurposed for transporting emigrants as part of a British initiative to encourage settlement in Australia. The disaster highlighted the perils of maritime travel during that era and prompted memorial efforts, including a memorial at the disaster site and the establishment of mass graves on King Island for the victims. The Cataraqui's wreck serves as a somber reminder of the challenges faced by those who sought a new beginning in distant lands.
Cataraqui Disaster
On 4 August 1845, the ship Cataraqui, en route to Melbourne, struck the rocks near King Island. More than 400 passengers and crew were aboard the vessel, which broke apart in rough seas. The ship was carrying more than 360 emigrants, who had left Liverpool, England, in April of the same year. The Cataraqui was part of a British program designed to encourage Britons to help develop colonies in Australia. Most of the emigrants were married couples with children, looking to start a new life in Melbourne. Only nine people—eight of whom were members of the crew—survived the disaster. The wreck of the Cataraqui remains the worst maritime disaster in Australian history.
Background
By the end of the eighteenth century, despite the loss of its American colonies, the British Empire spanned around the globe, reaching into the Americas, Africa, India and as far east as what would become known as Australia. London was the world's largest city, and Britain's urban population was surging because of the Industrial Revolution. In the interest of relieving the tremendous pressure of urban population growth in England, the Crown authorised the practice of transporting convicted criminals out of England and into other territories within the empire. This practice was known as "transportation", and it was designed to rid England of its jailed criminals and send labourers to the colonies, where they would help build and make prosperous those territories.
These convicts were diverse. Some were violent offenders; others, petty thieves; and still others, political prisoners. Some were jailed because they stole an item worth under a shilling. The jails themselves were overcrowded, mixing all of these convicts under one roof. Thus, many convicts were not only jailed unfairly but were given a punishment that did not fit the crimes they had committed: they were sent thousands of miles away to a penal colony for seven years of hard labour.
Transportation to America came to an end in 1783, when the United States emerged victorious from American War of Independence. Fortunately for King George III, British explorer James Cook, on 22 August 1770, had claimed eastern Australia for Britain, dubbing it New South Wales. In 1788, Britain began sending large and overcrowded ships of convicted criminals to New South Wales and other colonies on the continent. By the early nineteenth century, however, it became clear to both Britain and the colonial governments that the colonies also needed law-abiding citizens to help Australia thrive. Britain thus began a program to encourage English families to journey to and live in the colonies, where they would share their knowledge and skills in building Australia.
The Cataraqui
When the Cataraqui set sail on its fateful voyage, it was relatively new. It was built in Quebec, Canada (the ship shared its name with that of a river in Ontario) in 1840. At approximately eight hundred tonnes, the rigged ship was originally designed as a cargo vessel that would sail under the ownership of William Smith and Sons. However, the ship's value as a transport vessel for the growing British emigrant program was soon recognised, and in early 1845 it was reconfigured to accommodate a sizable number of passengers (as well as cargo). The Cataraqui's first voyage in this capacity began immediately after its refitting—on 20 April 1845, it departed Liverpool, England, with approximately 367 British emigrants (mostly married couples and 73 children), 45 crew members and a large cargo of slate and coal. Its destination was Melbourne, more than ten thousand miles away.
Disaster at King Island
The Cataraqui's journey, according to accounts, was uneventful. Headed by Captain Christopher William Finlay, the ship travelled without incident until it neared Australia, when it encountered rough seas near Bass Strait on 3 August 1845. The following morning, passengers were awakened to stormy, wild and violent seas as the Cataraqui approached the western side of King Island. The ship struck a reef off King Island and immediately began to disintegrate. Passengers and crew members were swept overboard.
Less than an hour after the ship ran aground, the Cataraqui rolled onto its port side, sending more passengers into the ocean. They were in sight of land, but the ship's passengers and crew could not reach it, prevented from doing so by the rocks, reefs and violent waves. Attempts to free the masts and thus encourage the ship to right itself proved fruitless, as were efforts to reach shore and obtain assistance. The ship ultimately broke up. Only nine people made it to King Island. There, they were rescued by a Bass Strait police officer, David Howie. They remained stranded on the island for about five weeks. During that time, they aided in the task of pulling bodies from the water and burying them.
The impact of the Cataraqui, the worst civil maritime disaster in Australian history, was immediately felt across the Australian colonies. After all, the victims of the tragedy were settler children and parents. Melbourne, where the ship was bound, was the scene of a number of fund-raising events for the nine survivors as well as Howie, the man who had saved them and helped bury the hundreds of bodies in four mass graves on King Island. An iron memorial was constructed at King Island where the ship ran aground.
The remains of the Cataraqui were sold to a construction company for £86. Very little remains at the site of the disaster—the ship's capstan (used for winding rope and cable), an anchor and chain and some of the boat's slate cargo are all that are visible on the ocean floor. However, after the iron memorial rusted away, a more permanent memorial was installed near the site, and in 1995, the graves themselves were given permanent memorial information.
Bibliography
Broxam, Graeme. "Cataraqui." The Companion to Tasmanian History. Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies, 2006, www.utas.edu.au/library/companion‗to‗tasmanian‗history/C/Cataraqui.htm. Accessed 3 Jan. 2017.
"Cataraqui." Parks & Wildlife Service Tasmania, Tasmanian Government, 2008, www.parks.tas.gov.au/indeX.aspX?base=1769. Accessed 3 Jan. 2017.
"Dreadful Shipwreck: Wreck of the 'Cataraqui' Emigrant Ship of 800 Tons." The Courier, 20 Sept. 1845. Trove, National Library of Australia, 2016, trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2947368. Accessed 3 Jan. 2017.
"1830–1840s: Assisted Immigration Introduced." Migration Heritage Centre, NSW Government, 2010, www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/objects-through-time/essays/1830-1840s. Accessed 3 Jan. 2017.
"View Shipwreck—Cataraqui." Australian National Shipwreck Database, 2016. Accessed 3 Jan. 2017.