Shipwrecks on the Nambucca, part 3
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The SS Nambucca
There has been a number of ships called Nambucca. What we can call the Nambucca 1 was a wooden two masted schooner built in 1898 by D Drake of Balmain, in Sydney.
This is further evidence of the Valley's connection with Balmain as throughout the second half of the 19th century both residents and ships often originated from there.
The Nambucca 1 was transferred to Wellington, New Zealand, in 1902. On January 16, 1905, she ran aground and was wrecked near Sinclair Head, New Zealand, during foggy weather.
The SS Nambucca, or Nambucca 2, is the subject of this story and was a wooden, twin screw steamer of 415 tons, built at Tuncurry, NSW, in 1922.
It was owned by the North Coast Steam Navigation Company. The engines for the ship were taken from another vessel called the Augusta.
The Nambucca 3 was also a wooden ship, built at Tuncurry, in 1936. This ship was requisitioned for Naval service in 1939 and commissioned as a minesweeper by the Australian Navy. It was then handed over to the US Navy on charter, until lost by fire in 1945.
The SS Nambucca 2 was being towed by the tug Kiola into the Nambucca River on May 7, 1934.
It was carrying goods like fuel, timber, machinery and household supplies as well as mail from Sydney to Nambucca heads and Macksville.
Aided by heavy seas, the Nambucca came adrift from its line to the tug.
The ship's mate, Mr A Clarence, gave this eyewitness account to The Sun newspaper:
"We were entering the bar at the mouth of the Nambucca River, with a towline out to the tug, when a big wave seemed to lift us out of the water.
"A second wave caught us, the ship heeled over and the steering gear broke. We were buffeted by heavy seas and the Nambucca was in danger of being hurled against the jutting break wall.
"If we had struck the wall the old wooden ship would have been dashed to pieces and all hands lost."
The newspaper report detailed the attempts of the mate to repair the steering and Captain Krok's efforts to manoeuvre the engines to work the ship away from the wall.
The Kiola fired four rocket lines at the Nambucca, but all missed.
Once the engines were flooded there was no hope of shifting the vessel, and the crew concentrated on keeping the ship watertight.
Still in big seas, by Monday night, the captain ordered the ship to be abandoned and all crew were safely taken ashore.
Continued pounding by heavy seas during the next night broke the back of the ship on Wednesday and the hope of re-floating the vessel was lost.
The deck cargo, including drums of oil, drifted ashore for miles along South Beach and were collected by the owner's manager. The internal cargo was also washed ashore.
The hull was eventually sold for 1000 pounds, and dismantled.
The SS Nambucca 2 had, during recent years, encountered several unfortunate incidents.
On different occasions three men had been killed during loading operations and in 1931, during a sudden southerly buster, she ran ashore in a small bay between the end of the breakwater and Wellington Rock on the northern side of the Nambucca River entrance. On this occasion the ship was re-floated and repairs carried out in Sydney.
From all of the ship's travails it had become known as unlucky.
This story was resourced from the archives and library of the Nambucca Headland Museum. The museum is currently closed to the public but inquiries are welcome through its' Facebook page.
