RMS ''Quetta'' was a

Royal Mail Ship Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel de ...

that was wrecked on the Far North Queensland coast of Australia on 28 February 1890. ''Quetta''s sinking killed 134 of the 292 people on board, making it one of Queensland's biggest maritime catastrophes. It was caused by collision with an uncharted rock in the Adolphus Channel.

Background

RMS ''Quetta'' was a

British-India Steam Navigation Company British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company. History The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...

liner that travelled between England, India and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. The

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

negotiated to have a service between the United Kingdom and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, to ease the passage of people and mail. ''Quetta'' was specifically built for the Australia run, with refrigeration capacity for the frozen meat trade. The ship was launched in March 1881 and made her first voyage to Brisbane in 1883. The designation RMS indicated the ship's role within the Queensland Royal Mail Line. Her sister ships were ''Manora'' and ''Merkara''. The ship was initially designed for 72 saloon (first class) and 32 steerage (second class) passengers, although this was later altered to favour steerage class due to the large number of migrants using the service. In five-and-a-half years service ''Quetta'' made 11 London-Brisbane round trips; the twelfth would be her final attempt.

Disaster

StateLibQld 1 45887 Drawing of 'Quetta' going down

On the night of 28 February 1890 the ship's master was Captain Sanders, with Captain Keatinge aboard piloting the ship through the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

. Destined for

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately north of Cape ...

, the ship turned into the Adolphus Channel to round the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

. The pilot was experienced, the weather fine and visibility good, but at 9:14pm the ship struck an uncharted rock in the middle of the channel near

Albany Island Albany Island or Pabaju is an island off the north-eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula in the Adolphus Channel and part of the Manar Group of islands of Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset in the Shire of Torres. G ...

. The rock ripped a hole through the plates from the bow to the engine room amidships, four to 12 feet wide, sinking ''Quetta'' in 5 minutes and sending 134 of her passengers to their deaths. At the time, ''Quetta''s loss was thought to be the worst maritime disaster of Queensland. At the time of the disaster ''Quetta'' had 292 people aboard: a crew of 121, comprising 15 European officers, 14 from other trades and 92

lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the ...

s from India; 70 Javanese in temporary deck houses, travelling to

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

after working in the cane fields; and 101 other passengers. The ship's cutter floated clear of the wreck and capsized, surrounded by a large group of Javanese and lascar seamen.

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

James Oates organised the baling of the cutter and it headed towards shore. Only one of the ship's

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

survived: Number 1 starboard lifeboat controlled by third officer Thomas Babb. It was damaged and largely awash. As it headed toward shore it picked up more survivors including Captain Sanders. Around midnight the two boats came together and those aboard were placed on the nearest island. Captain Sanders then ordered the cutter to search for more survivors. After spending a night and day without food and water on Little Adolphus Island the main group of ninety-eight survivors were rescued by ''Albatross'', that along with ''Merrie England'' had been dispatched from

's Port Kennedy. ''Albatross'' took soundings and located the rock thought responsible for the disaster, about from where ''Quetta'' lay. Relics raised during salvage attempts months after the disaster, and later, can be found in the Quetta Memorial Church on Thursday Island, which was consecrated in 1893. She now lies on her port side in of water and is a protected historic shipwreck under Australia's ''

Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 The ''Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976'' was an Australian Act of Parliament designed to legally protect historic shipwrecks and any relics or artefacts from those wrecks. The Act automatically affects all shipwrecks that meet the "historic" crit ...

''.

Memorials

As a memorial to the lives lost on the ''Quetta'', the Quetta Memorial Precinct was established on Thursday Island, comprising a church (later a cathedral), a rectory and a church hall.

Notable passengers

Claudius Buchanan Whish Claudius Buchanan Whish (5 January 1827 - 28 February 1890) was a prominent sugar-planter, civil servant and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early life Whish was born in London, the s ...

, and wife, Anne Ker Whish (both died) * John Watson of

Watson, Ferguson and Company Watson, Ferguson and Company is the longest running printing company in Queensland, Australia. It was established by John Watson and James Ferguson in the mid nineteenth century as a firm specialising in book selling, stationery manufacturing, l ...

, and wife, Elizabeth Selim Watson (both died) * George (70) and Jessie Blanche Prentice (18), paternal grandfather and half-sister of

George Gray Prentice George Gray Prentice (25 July 1891 – July 1944) was an architect practising in Brisbane, Australia, during the first half of the twentieth century and was involved in the design and construction of numerous major buildings in South East Que ...

(both died) * Alexander Archer, manager of the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and N ...

in Brisbane, brother of Archibald Archer, and wife, Mary Louisa, a daughter of

Sir Robert Mackenzie, 10th Baronet Sir Robert Ramsay Mackenzie, 10th Baronet (21 July 1811 – 19 September 1873) was a pastoralist and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was Premier of Queensland, Australia from August 1867 to November 1868. Early life Mackenzie was born ...

(both died) * Reuben Nicklin, and wife, Jane Lahey Nicklin, paternal grandparents of future

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

Frank Nicklin Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, (6 August 1895 – 29 January 1978) was an Australian politician. He was the Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, the first non- Labor Party premier since 1932.Lahey's Canungra Sawmill Lahey's Canungra Sawmill is a heritage-listed former sawmill at 10-26 Finch Road, Canungra, Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1884. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 March 2009. History The Canung ...

. The Nicklin family home "Hatherton" became the Queen Alexandra Home. Their 19-year-old daughter Alice Elizabeth Nicklin was one of the few female survivors. She was a strong swimmer and clung onto floating objects including a grating, then a dead sheep, then a plank. She was in the water on the dark, moonless night, sleeping and paddling on the plank and eventually made it to shore about three hours into the next day.

References

Underwater picture propeller and rudder
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External links