The Wreck of the “Viscount Melbourne”
By Clifford Terry
The fate of the barque rigged British East Indiaman cargo ship, the Viscount Melbourne could very well have languished in obscurity if not for a set of unique circumstances that would eventually led to her discovery nestled on the bottom of a reef in the middle of the South China Sea. The ship departed London on the 26th October, 1840, bound for Calcutta arriving there safely in March, 1841 where she remained for several months before setting off for China in the later part of the year. When the ship arrived in Singapore a number of important passengers would board for the onward trip to Macao, Lieut. Col. Campbell going to command the 30th regiment there and a Mrs. Sarah Dare and her two children, 2 year old, George and his infant brother, Julius. Mrs. Dare’s husband was the commander of the ship Medwas, a trading ship bound for Macao, however she remained in Singapore waiting for the birth of their son, Julius, and was now traveling on the Viscount Melbourne to join him. The ship departed Singapore on Christmas night with a full load of cotton, rice and saltpetre. By the new year they would encounter heavy storms that would steer them off there intended course. In the calm that followed, a strong current would carry them close to a dangerous reef known as the Luconia Shoals. On the 4 am watch, 5th January 1842, the alarm was sounded and despite all efforts to steer the ship clear, they struck the reef and became grounded. With no hope at all of getting the ship off the reef and realizing they were taking on water, the decision was made to abandon ship and return to Singapore.
Provisions and passengers were divided among 5 vessels with Captain McKenzie, Mrs Dare and her children in the launch with 23 members of the crew and Col. Campbell in the 1st cutter with the 1st and 3rd mates. During the journey the 1st cutter would make for the Borneo coast in search of water and never return, while the remaining boats would continue on to finally arrive in Singapore after 13 days at sea. During that time they would be beset by pirates but would escape without injury and when they finally arrived in Singapore. Just before docking, Mrs. Dare, exhausted and fatigued accidentally dropped baby Julius into the sea. He was retrieved from the water and resumed dead but was revived by a local doctor on landing. Julius would grow up to be a well known sportsman and his brother George would become a prominent businessman in Singapore before moving to Japan. The Dare family would have a long association with Singapore society and figured prominently in the early history of the Singapore colony. Captain Dare, himself after leaving Macau and returning to Singapore with his family, had numerous voyages to Sarawak Borneo and would have a long association with the ‘White Raj’, James Brooke.
Coincidentally, it was the fate of 1st cutter that would eventually lead to the discovery of the wreck of the Viscount Melbourne. The ship’s final resting place would be in 40 meters of water among the reefs of the south Luconia Shoals. Surveying the Luconia Shoals, maritime archaeologists, Hans and Roz Berekoven came upon the wreck and decide to research its possible identity. While reading The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido For the Suppression of Piracy with EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF JAMES BROOKE, ESQ., OF SARĀWAK, Roz came across a passage that talked about meeting the Royalist boat that was searching for the missing crew of the Viscount Melbourne, which was wrecked on the Luconia Shoals. As it turns out, one boat was lost the first night and the cutter with the 1st and 3rd mates, along with a Col. Campbell made for land in search of water. The remaining boats were set upon by pirates and while one of the boats was captured and set on fire, its crew was rescued and the other two boats were able to make it to Singapore. Further investigation revealed a brief account of the journey on a website
called The Silver Bowl by Sharon Oddie Brown and finally at the Singapore National Library they discovered a full account of the Viscount Melbourne and its demise from a journal written by the ship’s apprentice navigator, Harry Thompson.
The missing cutter did eventually make it to Singapore. Having lost sight of the other vessels they spent many days searching for them and would finally make landfall at the Sambas, in West Kalimantan where they were hospitably received by the Dutch authorities before making their onward journey to Singapore.
By Clifford Terry
- 800ton register – but was in fact 680ton
- Built in Shields England 1835 ( builder unknown)
- 150ft long – 47ft wide
- Three Masted Timber Cargo Ship ( unknown at this stage but assume Oak & Beech)
- Cargo –Cotton, Rice & Saltpetre
- Named after the First Prime Minister of Queen Victoria’s reign, William Lamb, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne
The fate of the barque rigged British East Indiaman cargo ship, the Viscount Melbourne could very well have languished in obscurity if not for a set of unique circumstances that would eventually led to her discovery nestled on the bottom of a reef in the middle of the South China Sea. The ship departed London on the 26th October, 1840, bound for Calcutta arriving there safely in March, 1841 where she remained for several months before setting off for China in the later part of the year. When the ship arrived in Singapore a number of important passengers would board for the onward trip to Macao, Lieut. Col. Campbell going to command the 30th regiment there and a Mrs. Sarah Dare and her two children, 2 year old, George and his infant brother, Julius. Mrs. Dare’s husband was the commander of the ship Medwas, a trading ship bound for Macao, however she remained in Singapore waiting for the birth of their son, Julius, and was now traveling on the Viscount Melbourne to join him. The ship departed Singapore on Christmas night with a full load of cotton, rice and saltpetre. By the new year they would encounter heavy storms that would steer them off there intended course. In the calm that followed, a strong current would carry them close to a dangerous reef known as the Luconia Shoals. On the 4 am watch, 5th January 1842, the alarm was sounded and despite all efforts to steer the ship clear, they struck the reef and became grounded. With no hope at all of getting the ship off the reef and realizing they were taking on water, the decision was made to abandon ship and return to Singapore.
Provisions and passengers were divided among 5 vessels with Captain McKenzie, Mrs Dare and her children in the launch with 23 members of the crew and Col. Campbell in the 1st cutter with the 1st and 3rd mates. During the journey the 1st cutter would make for the Borneo coast in search of water and never return, while the remaining boats would continue on to finally arrive in Singapore after 13 days at sea. During that time they would be beset by pirates but would escape without injury and when they finally arrived in Singapore. Just before docking, Mrs. Dare, exhausted and fatigued accidentally dropped baby Julius into the sea. He was retrieved from the water and resumed dead but was revived by a local doctor on landing. Julius would grow up to be a well known sportsman and his brother George would become a prominent businessman in Singapore before moving to Japan. The Dare family would have a long association with Singapore society and figured prominently in the early history of the Singapore colony. Captain Dare, himself after leaving Macau and returning to Singapore with his family, had numerous voyages to Sarawak Borneo and would have a long association with the ‘White Raj’, James Brooke.
Coincidentally, it was the fate of 1st cutter that would eventually lead to the discovery of the wreck of the Viscount Melbourne. The ship’s final resting place would be in 40 meters of water among the reefs of the south Luconia Shoals. Surveying the Luconia Shoals, maritime archaeologists, Hans and Roz Berekoven came upon the wreck and decide to research its possible identity. While reading The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido For the Suppression of Piracy with EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF JAMES BROOKE, ESQ., OF SARĀWAK, Roz came across a passage that talked about meeting the Royalist boat that was searching for the missing crew of the Viscount Melbourne, which was wrecked on the Luconia Shoals. As it turns out, one boat was lost the first night and the cutter with the 1st and 3rd mates, along with a Col. Campbell made for land in search of water. The remaining boats were set upon by pirates and while one of the boats was captured and set on fire, its crew was rescued and the other two boats were able to make it to Singapore. Further investigation revealed a brief account of the journey on a website
called The Silver Bowl by Sharon Oddie Brown and finally at the Singapore National Library they discovered a full account of the Viscount Melbourne and its demise from a journal written by the ship’s apprentice navigator, Harry Thompson.
The missing cutter did eventually make it to Singapore. Having lost sight of the other vessels they spent many days searching for them and would finally make landfall at the Sambas, in West Kalimantan where they were hospitably received by the Dutch authorities before making their onward journey to Singapore.
