A ship called Sapphire, Whale Oil and old hulks

Sketch Tas State Library

Author Geoffrey Dougall, with our thanks for allowing us to publish

The history of the barque Sapphire ending as a hulk

At the turn of the century old hulks were a common sight along the piers at Williamstown and the banks of the rivers where many were converted into lighters. To the casual observer they looked like discarded junk that had seen better days, but I wonder if anyone passing by may have pondered on what they may have been and what stories they could tell.

Hobsons Bay possibly more than most ports had a unique history with hulks and lighters, from its earliest days this was where the early settlers got their first glimpse of their new home. The protected waters of Hobsons Bay saw hundreds of ships arriving in the 1850’s with their crews jumping ship to seek their fortunes on the goldfields, many never returning to their port of embarkation.   Until the 1870’s lighters and barges were the only form of transport from the anchorage to the fledgling City of Melbourne due to the narrow entrance of the river and navigating the horseshoe bend of the Humbug Reach along the Salt Water River thence back into the Yarra via the West Melbourne Swamp where Victoria Dock was later constructed.  

With the conversion from sail to steam power many fine ships were unceremoniously dismasted and converted into coal hulks for use by the three main towage and lighter companies in Williamstown. Better profits could be made bunkering than repairing and maintaining the aging and outdated ships of a bygone era.

One such hulk was the Sapphire, formerly a wooden 3 masted barque built at Montrose, Scotland in 1845 registered to Kirkcaldy &Co.  She must have voyaged to Melbourne prior to 1853 as she was reported as arriving in the Thames with the first consignment of gold shipped from Australian gold fields in November 1852. She arrived back in Geelong in June 1853, under the command of Captain Fox and crossed over the bar along with the schooner Sybil. A month later she was advertised for sale. On 20th August 1853 departed for Singapore with 3 passengers and ballast arriving back in Feb 1854 with passengers, horses and timber. After voyaging to Newcastle she arrived back at Geelong with assorted cargo.  Advertised for sale again after arrival. 1854 registered at Hobart where she was fitted out as a whaler. Reported in 1856; Departing for the South seas, via Port Davey, this is the first mention of whalers using Port Davey. 1859 newspaper reports; ‘Local Whaler Sapphire anchored in Bramble Cove, Port Davey with 36 tons of whale oil.’ Sold again in 1866, still whaling now out of Hobart, one such cruise taking 16 months resulting in 123 tons of oil. She made a number of such trips all returning with large amounts of whale oil. In 1889 she was withdrawn from service and re-registered in Melbourne to McLeod & Co. and converted to a lighter.  MHT license 235.  1911 sold to Victorian Lighterage Co. Number MHT 77. 1922 License expired and Henry Moss & Co. granted permission to break her up on the North side of the old river. (Maribyrnong River).               

Early whaling in Victoria 

When a whale was spotted, ships would begin the chase, trying to draw near enough to lower their boats, manned with hard weather-beaten men, armed only with a hand-propelled harpoon, determination, and hopefully, luck. If they managed to catch and kill this great leviathan the men would now have to tow the whale by sheer back-breaking effort back to the waiting ship. Death and injury was a common occurrence for the chasers, but the danger didn't stop there, when the whale was drawn on board, danger was ever present.

Sailors survived on limited rations in cramped quarters aboard creaking ships, as one sailor expressed, “we worked like horses and lived like pigs.” Timber decks soaked in the fluid from processing whales were extremely slippery, men came down hard onto the deck, men slipped overboard to the waiting sharks drawn by water running with blood, men could be crushed by the weight of blubber being hauled into copper cauldrons in the try-works, they suffered deep lacerations from the sharp tools used for processing the whales. Everything, including the men were covered in whale oil, all this aboard a ship pitching and rolling on an unsettled sea, hot oil from processing cauldrons could spill onto the fires, this could easily spread engulfing the ship and the crew, many ships left port and were never seen again. When the processing was complete which could take 6 hours or more depending on the size of the whale, the crew would scrub and clean the ship as best they could.

By 1885 the romance of going to sea chasing whales was starting to decline, many whaling ship owners found it difficult to secure suitable crews and were forced into taking anyone that offered himself. The Sapphire was involved in an incident when as was customary at the time, the owners would advance the willing a small sum in advance of the voyage.  Taking the advance these larrikins would often spend the money, then not join the ship as required when it was time to sail. The police would be called and these reluctant absconders would be arrested and taken aboard the ship.

Just one example of an old hulk that had such a rich history, not necessarily a romantic one but nevertheless in those days whale oil was in big demand and many a sailor lost his life in the search and harpooning of whales along the east coast of Australia.  

The last few years have shown that many of these old hulks outlived their modern counterparts which can go to be scrapped after just a few years if conditions make them suddenly unprofitable.