01 A single Admiralty pattern is located on the reef close to the mound of iron No fewer than eight bar stock. It is of British manufacture and its dimensions indicate it would have been used vessels are reported as Jenny Lind’s stream anchor. Image Renee Malliaros/Silentworld Foundation. to have wrecked at Kenn Reefs between 1828 and 1884 The wreck of the Jenny Lind THE KENN REEFS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Maritime archaeologists affiliated with the Australian National Maritime Museum and Silentworld Foundation recently led an expedition to the Australian Coral Sea Territory to conduct an archaeological survey of historic shipwrecks lost at Kenn Reefs during the 19th century. James Hunter and Renee Malliaros report on their findings.

THE KENN REEFS EXPEDITION continues Nearly all recorded vessel losses at Kenn used by Canadian shipbuilders to fashion a collaboration between the museum and Reefs occurred in the 1850s, as that decade knees in wooden ships. It was single-decked, the Silentworld Foundation that began witnessed increased migration to Australia had an overall length of 118 feet (40 metres), in 2009. No fewer than eight vessels are and burgeoning trade between Australia’s a 26-foot (8-metre) beam, 20-foot (6-metre) reported to have wrecked at Kenn Reefs major port cities (Sydney and Melbourne) depth of , and carrying capacity of between 1828 and 1884. Most grounded and destinations in the Indonesian 484 tons. The vessel’s was relatively close to one another on the largest archipelago, India and Great Britain. a likeness of its namesake, the Swedish of the southernmost reefs in the chain, Many northbound ships followed the ‘Outer opera singer Johanna Maria (‘Jenny’) as it was located within an oft-travelled Route’, a course that took them away from Lind. Popularly known as the ‘Swedish shipping route, but poorly charted until the navigational hazards associated with the Nightingale’, Lind was one of the most mid-19th century. Great Barrier Reef, but also put them in highly regarded singers of the 19th century. the potential path of a number of smaller, She worked in close association with Kenn Reefs are located outside the extreme remote reefs scattered throughout the German composer Felix Mendelssohn eastern edge of the Great Barrier Reef, southern Coral Sea. One of these vessels, and American showman P T Barnum, and comprise a large coral seamount reef the British Jenny Lind, was travelling and toured extensively in Europe and the system created by part of a submerged from Melbourne to Singapore when it came United States from the 1830s to the 1850s. geological feature called the Kenn Plateau. to grief on Kenn Reefs in the early morning Jenny Lind was purchased by shipping The complex covers some 40 square hours of 21 September 1850. Jenny Lind’s concern Brent & Co and re-registered at kilometres and comprises four main reefs loss was the second recorded instance the English port of Plymouth on 26 February of shipwreck at Kenn Reefs following their that together have the appearance of a 1848, then began operating between discovery by British mariner Alexander backwards capital ‘L’. The sea breaks over Liverpool and New York under the command Kenn in April 1824. all of the reefs in the complex at high water, of Stephen Cleverly. In February 1850, and the tops of all save one are exposed at Few specific details are known about the vessel departed on its first – and only half-tide. Four sand cays are present at Kenn Jenny Lind, save what is available in Lloyd’s – voyage to Australia with a new master, Reefs, three of which are at least partially Register of Shipping and a handful of other Joseph Taylor, at the helm. It carried exposed at high tide. All known historic archival sources, including accounts of 114 passengers and a cargo of merchant shipwrecks at Kenn Reefs occurred near the vessel’s loss and its aftermath. Built in goods, and arrived at Port Adelaide in mid- Observatory Cay, which is the second largest Quebec, Canada, in 1847, Jenny Lind’s June. A little over a month later, Jenny Lind of the group and also features the second- included components manufactured from sailed for Melbourne with 50 passengers and highest point (approximately two metres) oak, pine and hackmatack (Larix laricina), a consignment of merchandise, arriving there above sea level in the entire reef complex. a species of larch native to Canada that was on 2 August.

AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM 9 01 01 Detail of some of the concreted wrought iron bar stock that makes up the majority of the Jenny Lind ‘presented mound. 02 This iron ‘key’ located near the top of the a scene of perfect anchor shank indicates the anchor would have been fitted with a wooden stock. and complete ruin’ 03 Concreted remnants of an iron windlass pawl located on the Jenny Lind site. Its diameter only an hour after measures 62 centimetres. All images Renee Malliaros/Silentworld striking the reef Foundation 01 02

On 27 August 1850, Jenny Lind cleared The series of events that transformed Jenny The one dangerous place was where the Melbourne, then departed Port Phillip Lind from a functional watercraft into waves met; the one which came round the Bay two days later on what would be its an archaeological site began the moment of the wreck, and the other the . final voyage. In addition to a portion of its the vessel struck Kenn Reefs. Portions of This is near where the rugged edge of the reef original cargo, the vessel carried 19 officers the vessel’s hull and superstructure were began, and although the heavy break was and crew and nine passengers, including wrenched away as they ground against the spent a good way outside, where the ballast three young children. The weather was reef and were pounded by surf. All three and about sixty tons of bar iron were lying reportedly variable for the first part of the masts and their sails and rigging were cut in a heap, which also helped to lessen the voyage, but by 19 and 20 September the away by the crew in an attempt to right stroke of the sea on the remains of the ship.4 sun was so obscured by cloud that celestial the hull and prevent it from breaking up. observations could not be taken to fix the Yet another description of the wreck, However, within a very short time Jenny provided by Seaman Richard Holten, vessel’s position. Shortly after 4 am on Lind began to succumb to the elements, 21 September, lookouts aboard Jenny Lind notes ‘nearly all one side’ of Jenny Lind and according to passenger Daniel Rowntree had washed onto the reef top by 3 October, spotted ‘something black’ in the water ahead Somerset, it ‘presented a scene of perfect and immediately took evasive action, but and was ‘made … fast to a rock’ in an and complete ruin’ only an hour after 5 were unable to prevent the barque striking apparent effort to hold it in place. This hull striking the reef. The barque continued the reef and going over on its beam ends.1 section may very well have contained the to break up while its crew and passengers Miraculously, no lives were lost. ballast and bar iron referred to by Tope. were marooned on Observatory Cay, If so, its wooden components would have All crew and passengers were subsequently and in the months and years following eventually been destroyed by the elements, transported to a ‘coral bank, partly covered their departure was reduced to a scatter leaving only the more robust iron and with sand … about half a mile away’ from of predominantly large, robust iron artefacts stone within to fuse together into a single the wreck site, where they eked out an lying atop the reef flat. corroded mass. existence for the next 37 days.2 Critical to What remains of Jenny Lind is located on their survival was a water distillation system Inspection of the bar stock during the 2017 made from copper cookware and lead the reef top approximately 800 metres south- survey revealed it was manufactured from piping salvaged from Jenny Lind. west of Observatory Cay, which roughly wrought iron, widely used during the Designed and built by passenger Phillip matches the ‘half a mile’ distance recorded 19th century because it was both tough and Beal (a physician and former ship’s surgeon), in historical accounts of the vessel’s loss. malleable. These qualities meant it could it could reportedly convert 25 gallons The site was first documented in 1987 be easily worked into a variety of products, (114 litres) of seawater into drinkable by a team of maritime archaeologists from including structural elements for ships freshwater per day. The crew, meanwhile, the Queensland Museum. Labelled ‘KR4’, and buildings. Architectural components salvaged timber, rigging and sails from the its most prominent feature is a large mound manufactured from iron were often loaded wreck and constructed a ‘schooner-rigged comprising stone ballast fused with a mass aboard ships as cargo, but because of their boat’ capable of carrying 22 people.3 of concreted iron rods and bar stock. great weight also functioned as ballast. On 29 October 1850, this vessel and Jenny The mound measures nine metres in length In the case of Jenny Lind, archival sources Lind’s only surviving ship’s boat (a small and forms the basis of the site’s identity do not specifically state the vessel was cutter) set off from Kenn Reefs for Brisbane, as Jenny Lind, as it correlates well to a carrying a cargo of iron. Indeed, most where they safely arrived after a voyage of description of the wreck provided accounts state it was only loaded with about three weeks. by Seaman Richard Tope: a ‘small quantity of flour and beef’,

10 SIGNALS 119 JUNE–AUGUST 2017 03 01 A modern satellite image showing the location of the Jenny Lind shipwreck site (highlighted by red rectangle) relative to Observatory Cay. Digital Globe Imagery/Silentworld Foundation 02 The mound of iron bar stock and ballast Lookouts aboard that forms the centrepiece of the Jenny Lind shipwreck site. About 1.5 metres high, Jenny Lind spotted it consists primarily of iron bar stock and rods lying atop stone ballast. Renee Malliaros/ ‘something black’ Silentworld Foundation 03 A scale drawing of Jenny Lind’s anchor and in the water ahead an anchor windlass component located nearby, as documented in 1987. Warren and immediately Delaney/Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection took evasive action 01 03

which suggests the bar iron may have site was located north and northwest of the Notes 6 functioned exclusively as ballast. ballast/bar iron mound, and covered an area 1 ‘Wreck of the Jenny Lind’, Maitland Mercury Alternatively, it may have been an of approximately 50 metres by 25 metres. and Hunter River General Advertiser, 27 November undocumented speculative cargo. In the wake of the 2017 survey, analysis 1850, p 4. Located around the mound are other of Geographic Information System (GIS) 2 Ibid. data derived from satellite imagery suggests artefacts and features, including stud- 3 Ibid; Diary of Daniel Rowntree Somerset, the site is much larger, and may actually link anchor chain, several large M 1256, Ian H Nicholson Collection, John Oxley unidentified concreted iron objects, measure closer to 157 metres by 60 metres. Library, State Library of Queensland. windlass components, a small number of However, additional fieldwork – including 4 ‘A Few More Reminiscences by Captain Tope’ indeterminate iron structural elements, and inspection and survey of the expanded site in Delaney, W (undated), Research Notes: Barque an Admiralty pattern anchor. The anchor footprint – will be necessary to confirm the Jenny Lind, Maritime Archaeological Section was relocated and inspected during the theory. Further fieldwork will also provide Research Files, Queensland Museum, p 13. 2017 survey, and its position plotted with an opportunity to determine exactly where 5 R Holten, An Account of the Wreck of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Its shank Jenny Lind ended up on the reef, and the Barque Jenny Lind on Kenn’s Reef, Sept 21st is 2.9 metres long and the distance between manner in which it subsequently broke up. 1850, M 1256, Ian H Nicholson Collection, the ‘bills’ (the protruding tip of each ‘palm’ John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Future investigations should also include a or fluke) is 2.0 metres. A ‘key’ near the top 6 ‘Wreck of the Jenny Lind’, Maitland Mercury of the anchor’s shank indicates it would more comprehensive survey of Observatory and Hunter River General Advertiser, 27 November have been fitted with a wooden stock, but Cay, with the goal of finding specific 1850, p 4. remnants of the Jenny Lind survivors’ given that the anchor is lying flat on the reef Further reading top and not ‘picked in’, it may not have been camp. Cultural material associated with used when the wreck occurred. The anchor the camp would provide a tangible link to Delaney, W, 1987, Report on wreck inspection survey: Kenn Reef, Maritime Archaeological is clearly of British design and manufacture, this incredible tale of shipwreck, survival Section, Queensland Museum. as its protruding bills are a distinct attribute and perseverance, and inform how Jenny of Admiralty pattern . Given Jenny Lind’s crew and passengers faced seemingly Lind’s origins and subsequent British use, insurmountable obstacles and adversity. the presence of a British-manufactured The ongoing analysis and interpretation Admiralty pattern anchor at the shipwreck of Jenny Lind and other historic shipwreck site offers additional evidence of its identity sites at Kenn Reefs offer to bring the stories as the Canadian-built barque. of our forebears to life, and illuminate the During the 1987 survey, the Queensland hardships faced by many who transited Museum team noted that most of the to and from Australia by sea during its early archaeological material associated with the transformation into today’s modern nation.

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