The SS ‘Formosa’ was a brand new iron-hulled coaster which was rigged as a three-masted schooner as well as a twin screw steamer. She was nearing the end of her maiden voyage from Glasgow, Scotland to Melbourne, Australia, when she came to grief and was wrecked off Portsea back beach – approximately 3 to 4 km south-east of Point Nepean, on the 5th February 1869 . . .
The location of the wreck site was quoted in the article below as being 4 miles (6.5 km) south-east of Point Nepean, which would place the incident somewhere between ‘London Bridge‘ and the Portsea Surf Life Saving Club, however, within the very next sentence it was quoted as 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Point Nepean, placing the incident in the vicinity between the Point Nepean Rifle Range and Monash Light Lookout:
” . . . In the course of the morning, however, it was ascertained from Captain Walker, of the A.S.N. Company’s s.s. City of Adelaide, that a three-masted iron schooner was on shore four miles south-east of Point Nepean, and rightly this was concluded to be the Formosa. Telegraphic intelligence from Queenscliff states that she went ashore about four o’clock yesterday morning, two miles east of Point Nepean ; and as the coast there is singularly forbidding, and a fresh S.S.E. wind was blowing, it was quite according to expectation that she would become a complete wreck. Later in the day it was intimated that’she had broken in two at the mizen, and that a great portion of her cargo had been washed ashore. Most fortunately no lives have been lost, and the crew, with the one passenger who was on board, having landed in safety, and reached the sanitary station at Point Nepean. When the perilous position of the vessel was known in town yesterday Messrs. Norton, Graham, and Co. at once sent another of their steamers – the Titan – to her assistance. It has not transpired to what extent the Formosa and her cargo were insured . . . “
Source: Excerpt – ‘Argus’ (Melbourne, Vic) – 6th February 1869
The following article confirms the wreckage was still visible some 7 years later in the vicinity of the ‘Portsea SLSC’:
” . . . About a mile from the hotel, in a southerly direction, is a charming ride among the sand-hills, across the country, to the back beach, through valleys and over hills covered with tea-tree, light-wood, and wattle. We proceeded on horseback along a sandy track till we reached the spot on the outer shore where the ill-fated Formosa was wrecked at the end of her voyage in 1865 ; the beach is still strewed with fragments that have not been removed . . . “
Source: Excerpt – ‘Illustrated Sydney News & New South Wales Agriculturalist & Grazier (NSW) – Article “Portsea, Sorrento, and London Bridge Rocks” – published 11th May 1872
The following article details the sad loss of a this brand new ship, attributing the blame to the Captain, the Port Phillip Senior Sea Pilot on duty, and, the Chief Officer in charge of the Deck at the time the incident occurred:
” . . . A fine steamship, the Formosa, was driven ashore near Point Nepean, and wrecked, on the morning of the 5th instant, under circumstances that seem to call for some observation. The ship was quite new, being on her first voyage, under canvas, at the time of her loss, and was no doubt sound and seaworthy. She was presumably well found, since nothing has been said to the contrary. Her sailing qualities were excellent, if we are to believe the evidence of the captain, who stated at the inquiry instituted by the Steam Navigation Board, that she (the Formosa) could go about ten and a half knots an hour in a strong breeze, and this with a crippled foremast. There was therefore nothing in the quality or condition of the ship to cause her misfortune ; and if we inquire into the state of the weather at the time, we again fail to find any rational explanation of the accident. There was a strong breeze of south-west wind, and the sky was obscured by clouds ; but a strong breeze is exactly what a seaman wants when in proximity to land, for then he has his ship fully under command ; and as for the clouds, it is not pretended that they obscured the Heads lights, which were distinctly in view from the Formosa’s deck from sundown on the 4th instant until eleven o’clock at night. There was no fog to darken the ship’s path, nor did she fall a prey to some unknown rock or newly-formed sandspit, against which no precautions could be used. It is customary to say of a wrecked ship that she was ” cast away,” but this usually metaphorical phrase may be used in the Formosa’s case quite in its literal sense. She was not lost through accident. The finger of God is nowhere to be traced in the chain of events that led to her destruction, but only culpable neglect or incapacity on the part of the persons to whose care she had been entrusted. If all voyages were as badly managed, the dangers of the sea would be increased tenfold. No matter how excellent his ship might be, or how favourable the weather which he encountered, every voyager would in that case be exposed to continual risk, and a successful termination to a sea voyage would become a somewhat rare accident.
But there is no difficulty whatever in assigning a cause for the wreck of the Formosa. She encountered severe weather in St. George’s Channel at the commencement of her voyage, and lost her foretopmasts, which damage her crew were unable to repair, the lost spar having been a mere continuation of the lower mast. Whether the captain was justified in proceeding on his voyage thus disabled is very questionable, for it was easy to foresee that the loss of the ship’s foretopmast would expose her to considerable danger when she made the Australian coast. But when the point of danger was reached, another indiscretion was committed by the captain, and this proved fatal to the ship, though not, by great good fortune, to the crew. Arriving off Shortland’s Bluff about five o’clock in the afternoon, and finding no pilot on the station, the ship might have lain-to for the night, or might have tacked backwards and forwards under easy sail, keeping the fairway open, and been as safe as if moored alongside the Queen’s Wharf. But she was permitted to settle down upon a lee shore, from which position she was unable to extricate herself through being disabled. The case is one of almost fatuous mismanagement ; but as the culpable person has been punished by a year’s suspension of his certificate of competency, there is no more to be said about him. His case, however, should be a warning to others charged with similar responsibilities, and it is in the hope that it may prove useful in this way that we give it such prominent notice.
In spite of her captain’s blunders, the Formosa would probably have reached her destination in safety had there not been culpable neglect of duty in an altogether different quarter. When she arrived off the Heads, on the afternoon of the 4th, there were no pilots on the station, as we have seen, and the loss of the ship is unquestionably due, indirectly, to this cause. Had a pilot taken her out of the captain’s hands on Thursday afternoon, she would probably have been run in with the evening’s tide ; but whether or not, she would never have been permitted to go upon the rocks on Friday morning. How it came that there were no pilots on the station is soon explained. The cutter Rip was on duty on the afternoon in question, with two pilots on board, and she should have kept the station until relieved by the Corsair. But the officer in charge of the deck (on board the Rip) neglected his duty, and permitted the vessel to get within the influence of the inflowing tide, by which, being under easy sail at the time, she was soon mastered. Unable to get back to her station in the teeth of a head-wind and contrary stream, she was obliged to ran in to the anchorage off Queenscliff, and this is how it happened that the captain of the Formosa was without assistance at a time when, as subsequent events proved, he was in such sore need of it. That there was gross neglect in the handling of the Rip seems to be only too plain. At the time that the tidal stream caught hold of her, she was under easy sail, although the wind had fallen light, and there was only one hand on deck, the others having gone below to tea. The pilots in charge, too, seem to have taken things very easily. The ship had drifted to leeward some miles before they knew anything about it, and when they at last came on deck, and discovered the state of affairs, it was too late to do any good. The Pilot Board, as will be seen from our report, of its proceedings, have held the senior pilot responsible for the Rip’s being off her station, and have censured and warned him. We quite approve of their decision. The chief officer in charge of the deck may be primarily responsible for the Rip’s drifting ; and no doubt he deserves some punishment for his neglect ; but it is on the senior officer that the chief responsibility must always rest, and it is only under very peculiar circumstances that he can be exonerated from the blame of anything that happens to the ship under his charge. In the case under consideration, there was nothing at all peculiar, except the indifference which the senior pilot displayed in regard to the position of his vessel, and we hope the warning he has received will be of use to him. We wonder whether the pilot-station was ever left unoccupied before, and if so, how often, and under what circumstances? It is a thing that might often happen without being publicly known, and if the pilot service has been carelessly conducted heretofore, the misfortune of the Formosa, in directing attention to the subject, may tend to the safety of other ships visiting our port . . . “
Source: Excerpt – ‘Argus’ (Melbourne, Vic) – published 13th February 1869
The beautiful surf beach at Portsea varies from tall cliffs to sand dunes – rock pools to long stretches of sandy beach – it is claimed that the stern of the SS ‘Formosa’ can be seen in certain conditions at very low tide – however, it’s exact location has not been identified. It is there somewhere – perhaps you could be lucky enough to spot it should the right conditions prevail ??? . . .
Helpful Hints:
– Some 2.5 km South of the Town Centre – obtain Directions here
– Car Parking & access to Portsea Back Beach is via:
– the SLSC Car Park (Wheel Chair accessible)
– the London Bridge Car Park
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- Off Street Parking
- Sealed Road