‘Julius Vogel', 1890

The 'Julius Vogel' was a 66-foot, 56-ton wooden schooner that had been built in Auckland, New Zealand in 1873. She was named after the New Zealand Premier at that time.

At 7pm on April 10th 1890, loaded with timber from the Bellinger River and en route to Wollongong, she went ashore at Tomakin (well south of Wollongong!). She had been moored there (presumably sheltering from the winds) but ‘broke away from her moorings in an exposed anchorage and drifted ashore’ in a very heavy gale that was blowing at the time. The crew landed safely but the vessel became a total wreck as a result of the rough weather.