NEWCASTLE LIFEBOAT MEMORIAL

DESCENDANTS GATHER FOR MARINE RESCUE MEMORIAL STATUE 

After 7 long years of agitation and lobbying, the magnificent rescue work of the long deceased crewmen of the Newcastle Lifeboats was immortalised today 13-12-2013 in a sculpture by the Pacific Ocean - scene of so many of their gallant rescues.

The sculpture was designed and built by Tuggerah artist Jamie Sargeant and is located half-way up the hill to Nobby's Lighthouse, on the right of the roadside, on a large concrete plinth. The work consists of a stylised lifeboat's bow and stern with a rocket launcher to one side. On the day, Rev. Gary Dodd performed a simple blessing as part of the opening ceremony. Gary, nowadays is working at the Newcastle Seaman's Mission. He is a long-term family friend who formerly worked at St John's Church Cooks Hill, where my mother-in-law Valerie Johnson is the resident church organist.

The artwork recognises the marine rescues completed in the early 19th to mid 20th centuries, when Newcastle had one of the most dangerous ports in the world. Over 600 ships came to grief off the port of Newcastle.

The opening was reminiscent of a bygone era when colourful ship's flags flew above similar ceremonies, such as the launching of Victoria (II) in 1897 when my great great grandfather was an official guest, he being a former coxswain of the first Victoria.

Victoria (II) Lifeboat launched Newcastle Pilot Station, May 1897.

  Descendants of crew members gathered for the unveiling.

Above, that's me standing proudly with the books I have written honouring the 300 crewman and my great great grandfather William Ahern. Standing directly behind me is Michael Nolan descendent of Henry Spruce and to the far left with the framed certificate is Mary great grandchild of Vito Loscocco.

 

After the unveiling the crowd were invited to the lighthouse for refreshments. As the day was extremely hot many of the elderly took advantage of the shuttle-bus provided. I don't have official figures but there appeared to be over 200 people in attendance.

Below: The official invitation sent to descendants by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle.

Saturday December 14, 2013

The following newspaper article is edited from the Newcastle Herald. Unfortunately they had some names and information incorrectly reported so I have fixed their omissions and mistakes.

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AS CODY Adams strolled down Nobbys beach yesterday he felt a twinge of pride spread through him as he paid tribute to his great great grandfather. William Adams was a coxswain in the Newcastle Lifeboat Service. During a memorial dedicated to the service, as well as the Rocket Brigades, Cody donned a replica cork lifejacket used by the crews. ‘‘It was really nice to be a part of his memory,’’ he said. ‘‘It was a proud moment and a chance to find out more about him. ‘‘What they did was pretty full on.’’ The Victoria Lifeboats Descendants and Friends group, assembled a team to create the replica jacket. Tom and Russell Davies cut and shaped each piece of cork, which was donated by Stephen Lane, and Graham Archer supplied the canvas and completed the vest and strapping. It will be placed on a mannequin at the Newcastle Maritime Centre, which already houses the original Victoria II lifeboat, used between 1897 and 1946.

Susan Denholm, Newcastle City Council’s project facilitator, worked closely with Newcastle Port Corporation and Victoria Lifeboats Descendants and Friends to organise the memorial at Nobbys beach. ‘‘I keep saying it but throughout the whole process everyone’s passion really stood out,’’ she said. ‘‘It was a perfect day and we had about 200 people turn up, including representatives from current rescue services. ‘‘They played such an important role in the maritime history of Newcastle.’’ The memorial, featuring sculptures of a lifeboat and rocket launcher built by Jamie Sargeant and John Morton, sits on Nobbys beach on the walk up to the lighthouse.

Heroic tale barely told

THEY were known as the guardians of the seas. For about 136 years, their exploits were the only thing ensuring hundreds of shipwrecks off the coast of Newcastle did not result in hundreds, possibly thousands, of funerals. All they had to help them battle the treacherous conditions was one small lifeboat, some life belts and their own blood and guts. Yet out they went, in all conditions – through day, night, gale-force winds and torrential rain – to save passengers and crew left helpless on stricken ships. The members of the Newcastle Lifeboat Service and the Rocket Brigades were about 350 over the course of their 136-year existence and are often forgotten in the Hunter’s maritime history. Yesterday, their legacy was remembered in the opening of a memorial dedicated to those who served, those who fell in the line of duty and those they saved.

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Click flyer to enlarge:

Although the above Newcastle Lifeboat book is no longer available to buy in printed form, digital copies are available by contacting the author. Particulars are further over on this blogsite - Tom Wynn, Stockton NSW.

Victoria Lifeboats I and II 1838-1946

Tom Wynn's book: 

Descendants of the Victoria Lifeboats I and II

Press play and hear a small excerpt of my TV interview followed by 7 mins of pictures from the book:

Lifeboat History Sought

Newcastle Herald

By MARTIN DINNEEN

A PIECE of maritime history and the descendants of those closely connected to it were brought together at the Maritime Centre at Lee Wharf in an effort to add to the details of its story. The Victoria lifeboats 1 & 2 were instrumental in the rescue of sailors off the Newcastle coast prior to 1946. Victoria 2 takes pride of place in the new museum. Descendants of those who crewed the boats saw a new film on the subject and discussed recording a digital history of the Newcastle Lifeboat Service. The Victoria 2, which was manned by 12 rowers and a coxswain, was used to help ships in trouble both inside and outside Newcastle Harbour and could carry 32 passengers plus crew. The Victoria Lifeboats Descendants and Friends group have tried to find relatives of the brave crew.  Historian Tom Wynn, whose great-great-grandfather William Ahern was a coxswain of the Victoria I, said relatives of only 6 per cent of the crew had been found but he hoped to find more. "We've identified 330 men [who manned the boat] . . . and we've found descendants of only 18," he said. "We are now searching for relatives of the other 312 men."

Above: William Ahern is on the front cover of the book (bottom left corner), with his seated wife, Charlotte Rebecca Ahern (nee Barwell). On the right is Henry Spruce and family. Glynda Nolan's husband Michael is a descendant of Henry. Glynda was instrumental in helping with the fact-checking for the book.

ST Leo & ST Burunda of Newcastle NSW

Above: Thought to be the SS Leo tugboat berthed at Kings Wharf Newcastle. Note the large box paddles either side of the hull.

Above: article from Newcastle Herald 2007 - SS Leo

 Above: article from Newcastle herald 14-4-2012 - SS Leo

PRESS PLAY for a radio interview about Captain George Phillips White and the discovery of the S.S.Leo which was a ship buried under the sands near Honeysuckle Newcastle. The S.S.Leo was one of the ships he captained. In 1882 when he was married he listed the ship as his place of residence. George married Charlotte Sophia Ahern. George Phillips White was son-in-law of William Ahern Lifeboat Coxswain.

This is an audio track only.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ABOUT THE SS LEO

A BIT OF TOM'S FAMILY HISTORY
Captain George Phillips White was one of my ancestors who came to Australia from Sussex England in the 1870s and settled in Newcastle NSW. He came from a long line of sailing and maritime families. His brothers were Royal Naval officers, coastguards and lifeboat officers stationed around the shores of the UK. His parents were from distinguished sea-going families. His father James White was a coastguard who was born at Milford on Sea near Hurst Castle (opposite the Isle of White) and his mother was Elizabeth Phillips whose father Griffith Phillips was from a famous sea-going family of New Quay, Wales. The Phillips family were responsible for the development of the town and port at New Quay and there are many historical references to this family.

Press play:
The following episode of "The Worst Jobs In History" hosted by Tony Robinson, has a segment (starting at the 32 minute mark), on what it was like to work as a coastguard, or lifeboat crewman in the time of my ancestor James White. 


Captain George Phillips White trained and worked on the HMS Warrior

stationed nowadays in Portsmouth England 

and as an officer he trained sailors on the HMS Trincomalee

 nowadays stationed in Hartlepool England. 

Press play:
In the following episode of "The Worst Jobs In History" hosted by Tony Robinson, forward to the 22 minute mark to see a segment about life aboard the HMS Trincomalee and see what it would have been like for my great grandfather Cap.G.P.White to train aboard.

George Phillips White was married 1882 in Newcastle NSW Australia, and not surprisingly listed his then tug the SS Leo as his residence. He was "married to the sea" by all accounts and rarely ventured on-land. Although he did manage to find the time to produce a family of 9 children with his wife Charlotte (nee Ahern).

Above: George and Charlotte White and 8 of their 9 children - one son was absent with chickenpox.

 Below: George's retirement watch which was presented to him at age 50. George never really took retirement seriously and was on secondment to the Port of Newcastle when he died at age 54.

In 1902, one of the first Australian-built tugboats ST Burunda, was sent to Newcastle and my ancestor George was its captain for a few years prior to his untimely death at age 54. George died from pneumonia while on active service in 1909. After his passing, the tug Burunda was re-named ST Waratah. 

The Waratah worked in Newcastle up to the Second World War then sat derelict for a while before being lovingly restored by public donation by the Sydney Maritime Fleet on the foreshore of Darling Harbour. Nowadays George's old tug is a tourist attraction in Sydney and takes part in daily excursion around the harbour. 

The Burunda, launched on 21st May, 1902 is 108ft long, 20ft wide and weighs 165 tons. It is the oldest working steam tugboat in Australia. Below are some YouTube videos of her engines in action - I know a few steam enthusiasts who are drooling as we speak!

Captain George Phillips White died in July 1910 and the following articles would have been some of the last of his reported exploits:

Article: The Northern Star Wednesday 23 March 1910, page 4.

THE STRANDED DREDGE ULYSSES

EVANS HEAD NSW Tuesday

The active work of preparing to salvage the dredge Ulysses was commenced on Monday and was being carried, on today. Teams from Woodburn brought out tents and a lot of salvage gear. Today a gang of 28 men under Mr. Brookes, supervising engineer, and Captain White were employed.  The work is confined to removing the upper deck and any movable machinery of heavy weight.

This has to be rolled to a terrace 13 or 14 feet high and hauled up by a derrick. It is to be taken into Woodburn by team. The dredge's position is practically unchanged. She lies broadside on, about 28 feet from a terrace, which has been formed by the sand being washed out to a depth of 12 feet by the recent heavy weather. A nasty choppy sea has been running for the past few days and has washed, from three to four feet of sand round it, leaving her on a black rock, which, fortunately, is not jagged. The low tide just comes up to her, and the seas at high tide cause her to bump slightly.

Tomorrow the tugs Rhea and Burunda are expected, when two anchors of two tons each will be laid out from the shore, and, with cables to these and the dredge's winches, and possibly two or three  tugs,  Engineer Brookes expects to get off next Sunday, which will be the highest tide.

There has been strong wind and a few showers the last few days, and the salvage of the dredge now depends upon the weather conditions. Engineer Parker, from Lismore, who is working on the dredge, thinks that it will be got off, but not without great injury to the vessel's bottom. Most of the damage so far is confined to the machinery, which is being ruined by the action of the sand and sea water.

Article: The Argus Monday 14 March 1910 page 6.

PERILS OF THE SEA

DREDGE BBEAKS ADRIFT

WASHED SAFELY ASHORE

SYDNEY, Sunday. An exciting experience was that of the nine men on board the dredge Ulysses, which, at midnight on Thursday, lost her tow, and found herself at the mercy of the sea. Eventually she was washed safely ashore. The Ulysses a heavy iron craft of the pump-ladder description, valued at £9,000 left Newcastle in tow of the Government tugboat Rhea, for Richmond River, and according to information received yesterday, cast adrift at midnight on Thursday, owing to the parting of the tow rope There was a heavy sea running, and the strain on the rope proved too great. The dredge was in charge of Mr. W. White, chief engineer and master, and there were eight others onboard. Considerable anxiety was felt for their safety, as the Ulysses had no steam propelling power of her own and the course she might take would entirely depend upon the current and the state or the weather. A telegram received later in the day contained the reassuring information that the dredge was washed ashore, with all hands safe, five miles south of the Evans Ewer.

COXSWAIN MISSING.

Following the dredge was a hopper barge, in tow of the small steamer Burunda. A telegram from the master of the steamer at Byron Bay stated that a punt was lost off Clarence River on Thursday night with the coxswain on board. The steamer was unable to render assistance. Interviews with the masters of the Government tugs Burunda and Rhea, at Byron Bay show that Thursday night was very stormy, with blinding rain and intense darkness The punt, which was manned by two men astern of the Burunda, could not be seen. The decks of the tug were continually swept and those on the punt must have had a dreadful experience.  The towline between the Rhea and the dredge parted twice but the steamer succeeded in connecting with the dredge each time. Finally, the hook on the tug to which the line was fastened, straightened out and broke and the dredge carrying the line with it, disappeared. Owing to the darkness it could not be recovered.

Victoria Lifeboat TV Interview

Above and below pictures of the day Victoria (II) Lifeboat was launched May 1897.

The man above, standing in front of the window and behind the Victoria (II) with a v-shaped piece of his white shirt showing, is my ancestor William Ahern. At this stage he was a retired lifeboat Coxswain invited to the festivities.

Below the crew have ropes holding the Victoria steady before she makes a public display of her capabilities. 

Click play for a TV news spot about the quest to find more information on the Victoria Lifeboat's coxswains and crewmen. I show my ancestor William Ahern who left Blackrock Cork Ireland at age 12 and wandered the world until arriving in Sydney NSW. He married Charlotte Barwell there in 1856. He became a Customs Officer at Newcastle not long after.

NEWCASTLE LIFEBOATS 1938-1946

Newcastle Lifeboats 1838-1946 is a new book with a most interesting collection of newspaper articles and pictures about the life of seafaring pioneers in Newcastle NSW. It chronicles various daring sea rescues and events and gives a snapshot of life in colonial Newcastle up to almost present times.

The book has contributions from lifeboat families and descendants about some of the crewmen and other people mentioned in the rescues. This includes private family pictures and family archival material that you won't find elsewhere.

The current edition is to be followed by subsequent books and therefore if you would like your crewman ancestor included in the next edition please contact Tom Wynn at 

wynne@optusnet.com.au

Tom Wynn & Victoria Lifeboat

In 2008 I published the third edition of a 330 page reference book called Newcastle Lifeboats 1838-1946. It is now out of print but those wishing to buy a copy (pdf), can contact the author by email at wynne@optusnet.com.au to purchase the CD version which is compatible with most computer operating systems. The cost of the disc is $40 AUD including postage. For those overseas the price will be higher but negotiable...You may also call + 61 2 49282696 if you have further inquiries.

The index to over 100 years of crewmen/coxswains is included at my other web page (click link):

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~wynne/victoria/

NEWCASTLE

LIFEBOATS

1838-1946

A CHRONOLOGY OF MISSIONS, COXSWAINS AND CREWMEN

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The following is a copy of the preface of my book...

Why did I research the Newcastle Lifeboat Service?
While doing a history book for my father’s family I came across a letter to the Newcastle Morning Herald editor in an old set of newspaper clippings held at the New Lambton Institute (Newcastle Family History Society). The letter was a written by my great great grandfather William Ahern when the Victoria (II) Lifeboat was launched in May 1897. After reading of William’s adventures I’ve spent countless hours - over 10 years - finding more stories of the exploits of the crewmen and Coxswains of the Newcastle Lifeboats. I have been determined to preserve as much information as I can, for all the families of the men of the Newcastle Lifeboat Service. If some of the information reflects my family bias I make no apologies as it was here that I began to unravel the stories of the other men who manned the Newcastle Lifeboats. I hope my ancestors would be proud of me, as I am of them.

Over 330 identified crewmen volunteered to provide this valuable service to the port of Newcastle from 1838 to 1946. I have been able to compile a database for most of the men (see appendix) but as with all research, some names have not been recorded correctly or may be spelt incorrectly when a newspaper report or inquiry was compiled. Clarifying spelling has been a difficult task. The original hand written Lifeboat Wages Book was hard to decipher. A second version transcribed by Captain James Fletcher had changes in spelling and the typed version of the Fletcher’s transcript was riddled with anomalies. Trying to make judgements based on all the work done prior has been irritating, in the least. Where possible original documents have been sited but even they are not totally reliable accounts as some crewman have been omitted from missions.

The following research is set out in a “log” style with a margin on the left indicating the date while on the right of the page is where the rescues or information about the crewmen is complied. There have been contributions from descendants which are shown with a light green accent to the page. The name of the contributor is also recorded. None of this would have been possible without the wonderful help from the Newcastle Maritime Centre, Glynda Nolan, Newcastle Regional Library, and numerous family genealogists.

Quoting Terry Callen, from his book Bar Dangerous, “The names of volunteers who gave years of service crop up regularly in reports, and they should be mentioned in any stories of Newcastle’s Lifeboat exploits. Sadly, no park, streets, or council reserve have been named after these courageous men”.

I hope one day to garner formal recognition for these Lifeboat heroes who forged the bonds of mateship and with hard work made Newcastle one of the safest and busiest ports of the modern world. A substantial and lasting monument to over 330 volunteers seems over due.

Thomas J. Wynn JP