Thomas Musgrave (10 May 1832 – 7 November 1891) was the captain of an Australian ship and later a lighthouse keeper, who was wrecked with the brigantine in the subantarctic Auckland Islands, and cast away there for over 18 months.

Early years

Musgrave was born in Durham, in north-eastern England, the eldest son of Richard Musgrave and Margaret Bailie. He first went to sea at the age of 16, from Liverpool in 1848. He married Catherine Halcrow Sinclair in 1854 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. He moved with his family to Australia in 1858 where he was based for the rest of his life.Macdonald (1997).

Shipwreck

Musgrave's final voyage as a ship's captain began in 1863, leaving Sydney on 12 November on a prospecting and sealing expedition to Campbell Island and the Auckland Islands south of New Zealand. The ship was wrecked in Carnley Harbour, Auckland Island, at the beginning of January 1864, and the ship's company of five people were stranded until they were able to refashion the ship's dinghy, with three of them, including Musgrave, sailing it 400 km to

Stewart Island Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...

in July 1865 to obtain rescue. He subsequently wrote ''Castaway on the Auckland Isles'' about his experiences.

Lighthouse keeping

After being reunited with his family in 1865, Musgrave promised his wife that he would never go far out at sea again. In 1867 he started work as a maritime pilot at

Lakes Entrance, Victoria Lakes Entrance is a seaside resort and fishing port in eastern Victoria, Australia. It is situated approximately east of Melbourne, near a managed, artificial channel connecting the Gippsland Lakes to Bass Strait. At the 2016 census, Lakes Ent ...

. In 1869, he began his career as a lighthouse keeper along the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

coast when he was put in charge of

Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse is situated on South East Point, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. From its point on the peninsula, it commands almost 360° views of Bass Strait, Australia, Bass Strait. The Wilson's P ...

. Subsequent postings were to the lighthouses at Gabo Island (1878),

Cape Schanck Cape Schanck is a locality at the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately south of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the Sh ...

(1884), Cape Otway (1887), and finally to Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. Musgrave died at the age of 59, seven months after the death of his wife, with whom he is buried at Queenscliffe, Victoria. During their 37-year marriage Catherine Musgrave bore 16 children, including three sets of twins. Nine of their children predeceased them, many in infancy.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Musgrave, Thomas 1832 births 1891 deaths Auckland Islands Australian non-fiction writers Castaways Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Lighthouse keepers Sea captains People from Durham, England Shipwreck survivors