''Lady Lyttleton'' was a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

that sunk in the Emu Point Channel in

Oyster Harbour Oyster Harbour is a permanently open estuary, north of King George Sound, which covers an area of near Albany, Western Australia. The harbour is used to shelter a fishing fleet carrying out commercial fishing and the farming of oysters and mus ...

near Albany in the Great Southern region 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 th ...

. The ship was built as ''Sultan'', with a female figurehead and a single deck. It was registered in

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 ...

in 1861 by the owners Alex Young and John Howard. In 1866 the vessel was sold to Harold Selwyn Smith in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and registered at the port there. On the ship's final voyage, in the command of John McArthur, it departed

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

on 29 May 1867 with three passengers and a cargo of 18 tons of bran, 10 tons of pollard, 443 tons of barley and other goods. It entered

King George Sound King George Sound ( nys , Menang Koort) is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use ...

on 16 June and was leaking badly. The crew had already jettisoned part of the cargo with the rest being unloaded in Albany before it sailed to Emu Point for repairs. ''Lady Lyttleton'' was hove down to the shore by tackles from the masthead but the ship slipped and then foundered and sank on 17 July 1867. It was later abandoned. The wreck was rediscovered by divers in 1971. The

Western Australian Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...

surveyed and partially excavated the site in 1978 and in 1990 with several artefacts being retrieved.

References

{{coord, 34.9977, S, 117.9503, E, display=title Great Southern (Western Australia) Maritime incidents in July 1867 Shipwrecks of Western Australia Barques of Australia King George Sound

See also

References