‘George’, 1806

The ‘George’ was a 28-ton sloop that had been built on the Hawkesbury River, just north of Sydney, and had been launched in 1802. She worked seal hunting in Bass Strait.

On 15th May 1803 ‘George’ ran aground on New Year Island (off the north-west coast of King Island) on her way to Bass Strait. She was eventually refloated 7½ months later. A carpenter was drowned in the process.

In late January or early February 1806, ‘George’ was swept onto rocks by a strong current in Twofold Bay. She was refloated but was found to be so badly damaged that she was immediately beached.

Aboriginals, throwing spears and burning grass, attacked the crew. The ship’s captain and the crew responded, killing several Aboriginals. The crew then set off for Sydney in the ship's boat and arrived there on 13th February 1806.

On 20th March 1806 ‘Venus’ left Sydney to find the wreck and refloat it. However, on arrival it was discovered to be in such bad condition that the cargo of 5,000 sealskins was removed and the ship was set on fire so the ironwork could be salvaged.

‘Venus’ returned to Sydney, inexplicably leaving five of its seamen behind. One of the men, Yankey Campbell, went missing on 20th April and was presumed to have been killed by Aboriginals. The remaining four fought a pitched battle with some Aboriginals and then retreated to their small boat.

Bad weather forced them to land at Jervis Bay where they asked two local Aboriginals to guide them to Sydney. They arrived there on 13th May 1806.

(We’d greatly appreciate receiving further details about these events.)