'Bega', 1908

The SS 'Bega' sank off Bunga, between Tathra and Bermagui, on an in-fated voyage to Sydney on April 5, 1908.

At that time, the Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company ran weekly steamers between Sydney and the south coast ports, bringing necessary goods and supplies into the area and returning with farm and live-stock and general produce. The steamers also carried passengers.

There had been a strike and no steamer had run for a fortnight; hence there was quite a pile-up of produce and livestock. In addition, quite a number of passengers were making the trip to the Sydney Show, and quite a number of livestock – the pick of the area – were on the 'Bega' to be exhibited there. There were also some people leaving the district and they and their families were passengers, and they also had their household furniture on the ship with them.

Because of the back-log caused by the strike, the shipping company knew it needed to send a steamer, but the usual experienced crew was not available so the company engaged a different crew made up largely of inexperienced men. This was on a Sunday afternoon and the whole afternoon was taken up with loading the ship at the port of Tathra. By dark everything was loaded. The ship could not have carried any more, and she finally got away about 6.30pm.

Shortly after leaving Tathra, and while having dinner on the ship, some passengers noticed that the 'Bega' had such a list that tea was spilling from the cups. About 10pm the list became decidedly worse and it appeared that the ship was about to sink. It was then off Bunga Point, about half-way between Tathra and Bermagui. Captain Bishop gave the order to abandon ship: “Man the boats – Women and children first!”

When the captain gave this order most of the passengers were already in bed. They were only given a few seconds to come away, most of them in their night attire, barefooted, and not allowed to bring any luggage as they lined up for the boats.

Two boats were lowered on the land-side of the sinking ship. In one boat were 22 women and two boys, with three men to row. It was soon discovered – too late – that there were no rowlocks in that boat so it had to be taken in tow by the second boat which carried 22 men.

On the other side of the ship, the seaward side, two rafts were lowered and the rest of those on board managed to fit on these. Captain Bishop was the last man to leave the Bega and he had the remains of David Clark wrapped in a tarpaulin and placed on his raft. (David Clarke from the Candelo area had recently died of shock.) One raft had to tow the other and, just as they were about to pull away, the unfortunate 'Bega' appeared to take a dive and sank in about forty fathoms of water about four miles from Bunga.

It is said that the crew praised the general behaviour of the passengers, as there was no hysterics, no general panic, and the passengers did their best to follow instructions under such awkward circumstances. The passengers, on their part, reciprocated in regard to the captain, officers and seamen.

A number of lifebelts were handed out but there were not sufficient to go around. Mr Jack Brunton gave his lifebelt to another passenger who could not swim.

It would appear that there were two currents flowing in different directions when the boat sank. One current flowed in a westerly direction and carried half the survivors toward Cuttagee. The discomfort and privation were aggravated through no fresh drinking water and no provisions having been taken on board any of the lifeboats.

The towed boat containing the women was found to be leaking, and the women had to bail it out constantly. One lady used a cork helmet and another a boot. Despite it being a very cold night others took their dresses off and mopped up the water, succeeding in keeping the boat afloat.

It was tremendously hard work for the two sailors, who were scarcely making any headway rowing, and were hopefully steering in the direction of where they thought land was. One cad of a man in the front boat produced a knife and threw it into the second boat, saying “Cut the rope and let us save ourselves or we’ll all be drowned”. Ally Sharpe caught the knife and flung it was far as he could into the sea. Good old Ally!

After several long hours of rowing, daylight appeared and land could be seen, but it was after twelve hours of hard rowing, bailing and great hardship that the two boats with all passengers alive reached Cuttagee beach. The Bega had sunk around 10.30pm Sunday night and it was about 10am that the boats were beached and the passengers gathered round in a group and offered up a hymn of thanksgiving. Exhausted as most of them were, they were able to walk inland, and after a while they came to Thornton’s timber mill, where the Thornton family treated them with great hospitality.

As the 'Bega' sank, the two rafts, one being towed by a rope behind the other, pulled away from danger and saw the last of the ship. Captain Bishop, Engineer McCubbin and most of the crew were on the rafts. Being on the seaward side of the ship they were caught up in a current flowing in a southerly direction. After continuous rowing for twelve hours. Captain Bishop recognised the coastal land near Wallagoot. They steered for shore and beached their rafts in a snug cave at the mouth of Wallagoot Lake. They had drifted about sixteen miles. The crew walked about a mile up to Mr Andrew Koellner’s house, where they were treated with the greatest hospitality.

The first news that reached Bega about the wreck was when Mr Andrew Koellner drove into town and told the story of the shipwrecked crew arriving at his place in a sad and sorry plight, and the death of Mr Clarke. Later in the day Dr Evershed and the Coroner, Mr H. O. T Cowdray, drove down to Koellner’s and held an inquest, and then the remains of Mr Clarke were transferred to Bega by Mr M. Corrigan and later interred at Candelo, the captain and the engineer attending the burial. All the neighbours of Mr Koellner, including his family, were most helpful, and they provided food and clothes and also buggies and sulkies, and drove some of the shipwrecked people into Bega. The crew were driven to the Tathra Hotel and the shipping company sent a steamer to bring them back to Sydney. The passengers who had landed at Cuttagee were brought back to Bega by friendly neighbours from the Bermagui side.

When the passengers on the 'Bega' were about to be transferred to the lifeboats, three seamen fell into the sea. Two came to the surface and were among those that landed at Cuttagee. They thought then that their mate had been drowned. It transpired that when he did emerge from the water he was on the other side of the ship, and was picked up and placed on one of the rafts that landed at Wallagoot. Mr W. G. Cochrane was down in his berth, and when he heard the commotion he came up on deck to investigate. He was accidentally knocked into the sea. Fortunately, he could swim and was finally picked up and placed in one of the lifeboats. George Targett went below to see how the Warragaburra cattle were and found them standing in water. He came up to see what he could do for them, but was promptly placed in one of the lifeboats. Tom Ramsay, who had four horses tied up below, announced that he was going down to unhalter them, and give them a chance to swim to shore. The captain gave an order to two of the seamen, “Stop that man – by force if necessary – and put him in one of the lifeboats!” Naturally it would never have done to have had animals swimming about in the sea alongside boats and rafts already loaded to the limit with passengers.

Among those who landed safely at Cuttagee was the ship’s cook. On reaching the Thornton home he made quite a supply of damper. To the rescued crowd damper has never tasted so nice, and not one crumb remained over.

Subsequently some of the passengers sued the company for damages, but their claim for compensation was disallowed. The ruling of the Court was that it was an act of God.

(Edited from of A.B. Jauncey’s “The Wreck of the ‘Bega’” in 'Tales of the Far South Coast', Volume 2, April 1984.)