Item #114167 Wreck of the 'London'. Wreck of the 'London'.
Wreck of the 'London'
Wreck of the 'London'
Wreck of the 'London'

Wreck of the 'London'

London, Sampson, Low, Son, and Marston, 1866.

Small octavo, [ii], 100 pages with numerous wood-engraved illustrations (5 full-page) plus a frontispiece.

Early half roan and cloth; covers worn at the extremities and a little sunned; minor restoration at the head of the spine; hinges cracked but sound; endpapers unevenly browned; minor signs of use; overall a very good copy.

The steamship 'London', bound for Melbourne, foundered in heavy weather off the Bay of Biscay on 9 January 1866, with the loss of 270 passengers and crew. The only survivors were 16 crew and 3 passengers who managed to launch a pinnace just minutes before the ship sank. The sinking caused a sensation in Britain and the Australian colonies, and this is one of several accounts rushed to print in early 1866. The pious tone of this account contrasts somewhat to comments made by one of the survivors, carpenter's mate Edward Gardner, who suggested that if the passengers who gathered to pray in the saloon had chosen to man the pumps instead, more might have been saved.

With the early ownership details of 'Mary Clark, Greenloop, Noarlunga'. 'James Clark of Green Loop farm, which was a significant land holding around the bends of the Onkaparinga, established the steam flour mills in Noarlunga and McLaren Vale. His daughter Mary married neighbour Alfred Perry junior and the Perry family carried on at this property for many years before it was demolished' (City of Onkaparinga website). Ferguson 11710a.

To digress slightly, the loss of the 'London' was immortalised by the inimitable William Topaz McGonagall in his characteristic effortless verse ''Twas all on a sudden the storm did arise, | Which took the captain and passengers all by surprise, | Because they had just sat down to their tea, | When the ship began to roll with the heaving of the sea, | And shipped a deal of water, which came down on their heads, | Which wet their clothes and also their beds; And caused a fearful scene of consternation, | And amongst the ladies great tribulation ...'.

Item #114167

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