Do Not Believe It!

Ripley's Story of Torres Strait Wrecks

By J. J. Stewart

THAT story of the remarkable series of Torres Strait shipwrecks in the years 1829 and 1830, told by Ripley of “Believe It Or Not” fame in an American nation-wide broadcast and re-told in the October issue of “Pacific Islands Month ly”, would be an extraordinary chain of coincidences, if it were true.

Unfortunately for those of us who love the bizarre and unusual —and most of us do—the story won’t bear close examina tion.

According to Ripley, the brig “Mer maid” was wrecked in Torres Strait in October, 1829. and, three days later, all her crew were picked up by the “Swift sure”, which in turn went ashore. Both crews were rescued by the “Governor Ready”, but the “Governor Ready” went down and everybody took to the boats.

The “Comet” was the next vessel to be drawn into the web of coincidence. She rescued the crews of the “Mermaid”, “Swiftsure” and “Governor Ready”, and was wrecked in turn. The “Jupiter” was close by and came to the rescue. The “Jupiter” had just reached the entrance to the North Australian settlement of Raffles Bay when she ran ashore and the host of seamen aboard her . were taken off by the steampship, “City of Leeds”.

The Ripley version then concludes with a tearful little story of the doctor of the “City of Leeds” going among the ship wrecked mariners asking for a volunteer to come and comfort an elderly woman passenger, who was delirious and calling for her son. A seaman off the “Mer maid” offered his services, to find the woman was his own mother.

Strangely enough, J. H. Heaton’s Dic tionary of Australian Dates, published in 1879, vouches for the main part of Rip ley’s story, from the wreck of the “Mer maid” to that of the “Jupiter”. The “City of Leeds” incident can be treated as a myth from the start. The first steam ship in Australian waters was the “Sophie Jane”, which arrived at Sydney, via the Cape route, in May, 1831, about a year after the “City of Leeds” was supposed to be roaming around Torres Strait.

Now let us take the first part of the story. In 1835, T. B. Wilson, M.D., Sur geon R.N., published “A Narrative of a Voyage Around the World”. Doctor Wil son was- aboard the “Governor Ready” when that ship was wrecked in Torres Strait. As surgeon-superintendent he had joined her in 1828 for a voyage out to Australia with 200 convicts. The “Gover nor Ready” arrived at Sydney in Janu ary, 1829, and proceeded to Hobart. From Hobart she sailed for Batavia. It had been intended to go via Cape Leeuwin, but the vessel could not beat to the west ward against the prevailing winds and, after twenty days of wasted effort, it was decided to sail up the eastern coast of Australia.

On May 18, 1829, the “Governor Ready” went on a reef in Torres Strait, and the crew took to the boats. The near est outpost of civilisation, or so they thought, was at Melville Island. A gale blew them past Melville Island—luckily for them because by then the settlement at that place had been abandoned —and they set a course for Timor. When the shipwrecked sailors picked up the Timor coast, they had completed an epic boat

voyage of 1,300 miles, filled with hard ship and fortitude.

Shortly afterwards the brig “Amity” was sighted. Dr. Wilson boarded her, to travel back to Raffles Bay, while his com panions went on to Coupang, then only a short distance away. It was the end of June when Dr. Wilson arrived at Raffles Bay and he stayed there until the settlement was abandoned on August 28, 1829.

In his book he narrates that, on July 22 while walking along the foreshore, he sighted a sail, which at first he thought to be that of the “Mermaid”, then overdue. However, it proved to be the brig “Resource”, going from Sydney to the Isle of France. Her purpose in calling at Raffles Bay was to land the shipwrecked crews of the “Mermaid” and “Swiftsure”.

According to Ripley, the “Mermaid” was wrecked in October, 1829; but Dr.

Wilson puts the date at June 13. He says her crew took to the whale-boat and, after three days, were picked up by the schooner “Admiral Giffard”, which later put them aboard the “Swiftsure”.

The “Swiftsure” was wrecked on July 5, off Cape Sidmouth, and both crews were rescued by the “Resource”.

Of course, at the time when he wrote his book, Dr. Wilson did not know that 110 years later this series of shipwrecks was to be re-touched and polished by a purveyor of the extraordinary, so he did not bother to any great extent about circumstantial detail. However, he does relate that he met the captain of the “Mermaid” when he came ashore and that, as he escorted him up to the com mandant’s office, the captain told him he was carrying a despatch ordering that the settlement be abandoned forthwith.

For the rest, it has been recorded that the “Jupiter” did go ashore at the en trance to Raffles Bay, but there is no thing to link her up with the other ship wrecks. In Captain Rhodes’s ‘ Pageant of the Pacific” there is mention of the “Comet” arriving at Sydney in May. 1831. after transferring the people of Pitcairn Island to Tahiti.

A pity to punch the holes of historical data into Ripley’s story; it was such a nice one.