Project Objective: To locate,
positively identify and report on the SS Alert. Ship History:
243/116 tons. Built at Glasgow, 1877, for Huddart Parker. Lbd 169 x 19.6 x 9.8 ft.
Sailed to Australia as a three-masted schooner with her funnel and propeller stowed in the hold, which was common for the time. She replaced the SS Despatch on the Gippsland-Melbourne run in 1893 whilst the Despatch was being refitted. The ship foundered in stormy seas near Cape Schanck, 28 December 1893. Fifteen lives lost.
The one survivor, Robert Ponting, grasped portion of a cabin door and clung to it for sixteen hours before staggering on to the beach about 15 km from where the Alert foundered. That morning he was found unconscious on the back beach of Sorrento by four young ladies, unconscious and half hidden in the sand. The ladies sheltered him as best they could with their cloaks and umbrellas until a man, Austin Stanton, and his St. Bernard dog, Victor Hugo, appeared and rendered first aid. The dog nestled close to Ponting and kept him warm while further assistance was sought. The loss of the vessel saw not only a Court of marine Inquiry, but also civil action against owners Huddard Parker, by the wife of the second engineer, who had been lost in the disaster. She won her case.
Project Status: SS Alert location discovered. Site dived on 3 June 2007 and wreck identified as the SS Alert.
Further Information Required: Any information on the Alert,
its loss, ship general arrangement drawings, any information on the crew
and officers.
Martin Tozer has constructed a presentation that provides historical information and photos, as well as current photos of the SS Alert. You can download the 2 MB presentation from here. (Requires a PDF viewer.)
The discovery of the SS Alert's location has generated considerable coverage in the press.
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