Historic Event in This Small Coastal Town.

The photo above is taken at sundown looking into the sea where the ship The Star of Greece went to it's watery grave. At low tide you can still see the top of the mast just below the surface. I have reposted this post below to keep it together with the rest of the posts about this fascinating and historical place in South Australia.

More in the Pt Willunga series in the form of history.

A Sad Tale of The Star of Greece Lost To A Watery Grave On Friday 13th 1888

Alas, for our sailors! Had only a Lord,
A Duke, or an Earl, or a commoner rich,
A member of Parliament, knight of the sword,
Or some one of note (for it matters not which)
Been fighting for life on the ill-fated wreck,
Then all that invention and modern research
Could do to save life would be done, and the deck
Cleared quickly of all: none left in the lurch.
But perish the thought! thus to place on a par
The life of a Lord and a simple Jack Tar!
[From a poem by "Nemo", SA Register, 19 July, 1888.]

Star of Greece: 3 masted ship, iron, 1257 tons. Built Belfast 1868

Because the site of the wreck lies close to suburban Adelaide, the Star of Greece is now one of the best known wrecks in South Australia.

Built in Belfast in 1868, the Star of Greece, laden with wheat, was wrecked in a violent storm off Port Willunga on the 13th July 1888. Some discrepancy exists in the actual number of lives lost, due to doubts about the number of people aboard the vessel when it left Port Adelaide, but most historians conclude that at least 18 perished.

The most striking part of the tragedy was that the ship was only 200 metres from shore when it broke in two amidships at 2.00am.The alarm was raised at 7.20am by a young boy taking his morning walk but because the Willunga telegraph station didn't open until 9.00am, former harbour master Thomas Martin was unable to contact authorities in Adelaide until then.

The response to the call for help was disastrous. A combination of poor communications, bad roads, and an inability to find a good vehicle and horses to bring the necessary rocket gear for a rescue attempt meant that it was 4.00pm when useful help finally arrived. By then all the survivors were ashore and the others aboard had already drowned in the roaring surf.

Local residents had gone to the nearby beach to assist those who did manage to make it to shore. They bore witness to the deaths of those who fell into the sea, exhausted after desperately clinging to the rigging, and those who drowned in the mountainous seas as they tried to swim ashore. Helpless, they waited until some mariners made it to the shallows and then took them to nearby lodgings to recuperate.

Following the tragedy newspapers strongly criticised the Marine Board and its rescue operations and a later Coronial inquest was equally damning.

Today interpretive signs at Port Willunga tell the story of the Star of Greece near the cafe which bears its name.

At low tide parts of the wreck are still visible from the shore.

The 'Star of Greece' was wrecked between Port Willunga and Blanche Point after being driven aground on 13 July 1888. The ship left Port Adelaide headed for Queenstown, UK, carrying 16002 bags of wheat on 12 July, and was wrecked in the early hours of the following morning. A monument to those who perished in the shipwreck is located in the cemetery at Aldinga. A small collection of relics recovered from the Star of Greece is on display in the National Trust museum in Willunga.

Postscript:
The Star of Greece belonged to the White Star Line, which also lost The Titanic.
For a fascinating insight read the link below.

http://fou.uniting.com.au/starofgreece.html

More can be read from the site above.

Photo courtesy of the State Library of South Australia (B12016)

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