''Ability'' was a wooden ketch of 48 tons, owned by J. Breckenridge and built at William Woodward in 1878. She ran aground at

Cape Hawke Cape Hawke () is a coastal headland in Australia on the New South Wales coast, just south of Forster/Tuncurry and within the Booti Booti National Park. The cape was named by Captain Cook when he passed it on his ''Endeavour'' voyage on 12 May 17 ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, in 1897.

Shipwreck

On 5 January 1897, traveling from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

with a load of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

, ''Ability'' broke her moorings and was beached at Cape Hawke, near Forster, New South Wales. There were no reported deaths.Ability (+1897)
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References

Sources

* *''Australian shipwrecks Vol. 3 1871–1900'' By Loney, J. K. (Jack Kenneth), 1925–1995. Geelong Vic: List Publishing, 1982 910.4530994 LON Shipwrecks of the Mid North Coast Region Ships built in New South Wales 1878 ships Maritime incidents in 1897 1871–1900 ships of Australia Ketches of Australia {{ship-stub