''Ability'' was a wooden

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch f ...

of 48 tons, owned by J. Breckenridge and built at William Woodward in 1878. She ran aground at Cape Hawke,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, in 1897.

Shipwreck

On 5 January 1897, traveling from Cape Hawke to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

with a load of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, ''Ability'' broke her moorings and was beached at Cape Hawke, near Forster, New South Wales. There were no reported deaths.Ability (+1897)
WRECKsite.eu

References

Sources

* *''Australian shipwrecks Vol. 3 1871–1900'' By Loney, J. K. (Jack Kenneth), 1925–1995. Geelong Vic: List Publishing, 1982 910.4530994 LON Shipwrecks of the Mid North Coast Region Ships built in New South Wales 1878 ships Maritime incidents in 1897 1871–1900 ships of Australia Ketches of Australia {{ship-stub