SS ''Alert'' was a steamship that sank off

Cape Schanck Cape Schanck is a locality at the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, approximately south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local governme ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia on 28 December 1893. The ship was built for the gentle waters of Scottish lochs and was almost long and weighed 247 tonnes. After ''Alert'' sank the ship laid for 113 years on the ocean floor until being rediscovered in June 2007 by a team from Southern Ocean Exploration.

History

''Alert'' was built at Port Glasgow in 1877 and later sailed to Australia as a three-masted schooner with her funnel and propeller stowed in the hold. After a few years on the

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 ...

– Geelong route she temporarily replaced the on the

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cove ...

–Melbourne run in 1893 whilst ''Despatch'' was being refitted. During a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Lakes Entrance 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 ...

bound for

via Port Albert. She encountered

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

-force southerly winds and mountainous seas and sank about four miles off

. Of the 16 people on board, the only survivor was Robert Ponting, the ship's cook, who was washed ashore at

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana ra ...

"back" (ocean) beach after clinging to a portion of cabin door. He was found and revived by locals using brandy and the body heat of a

St. Bernard dog The Saint Bernard or St. Bernard (, ) is a breed of very large working dog from the Western Alps in Italy and Switzerland. They were originally bred for rescue work by the hospice of the Great St Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border. The ho ...

. Two bodies were also washed ashore at Sorrento back beach. An inquiry was held and attached no blame to the lighthouse keeper or the captain but, after years of litigation, compensation was awarded to Ponting and the wife of one of the deceased.

References

External links

State Library of Victoria: "The Foundering of the S.S. Alert Vic." (illustrations)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alert Victorian-era merchant ships of Australia Shipwrecks of Victoria (Australia) History of Victoria (Australia) Maritime incidents in 1893 1893 in Australia Ships built on the River Clyde 1877 ships Iron and steel steamships of Australia Australian Shipwrecks with protected zone