''Belinda'' was a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...

that was wrecked in 1824 off the coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. ''Belinda'' was a brig of 160 tons that was built in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of ...

, England in 1810. It arrived in Sydney on 23 February 1824, captained by Thomas Coverdale and crewed by 28 sailors. The ship sailed for the sealing grounds of

Recherché Archipelago The Archipelago of the Recherche, known locally as the Bay of Isles, is a group of 105 islands, and over 1200 "obstacles to shipping", off the south coast of Western Australia. The islands stretch from east to west and to off-shore encom ...

from Sydney on 17 May 1824 and on arrival was wrecked on 19 July 1824 ''Australian Shipwrecks – vol1 1622–1850'', Charles Bateson, AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, , p. 66 off Middle Island at . While the ship was completely wrecked, two small ships boats were saved and the crew attempted to return to Sydney. After travelling , one of the boats was swamped and sank. The party split into two with one half walking back to Middle Island in the Recherché Archipelago and the others keeping time with them in the remaining boat. After considerable struggle they returned to Middle Island where they were found in an exhausted state with all their provisions gone by the sealing brig ''Nereus'', under the command of Thomas Swindles on 8 December 1824. All the crew were rescued and returned to Sydney on 11 March 1825. In 1826 the schooner ''Liberty'' undertook salvage work and returned to Sydney with a quantity of iron work, including two sea anchors. ''The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser'', 15 Apr 1826, p. 1

References

Sailing ships Shipwrecks of Western Australia 1810 ships {{ship-stub

See also

References