Schomberg (1855 - 1855)

The Schomberg, the most famous of the Black Ball Lines fleet of passenger ships was said to be the most perfect clipper ship ever built.

It was designed and built in Aberdeen to beat the very fast clippers of the North American designer Donald Mckay.

When James Baines, owner of the Black Ball Line launched the Schomberg he said, "by the grace of god, this ship under the capable command of Captain Forbes will break the record he has already made".

Captain Forbes, who was drunk at the time, replied, "with or without the help of god I'll make the trip in 60 days".

However, at the equator the Schomberg experienced a number of windless days which slowed the journey down considerably.

Unfortunately Captain Forbes, never had another chance to put the Schomberg through its paces.

On the same voyage to Australia, only a day's sailing from Port Phillip Bay, the Schomberg stranded and wrecked on a sand spit at Peterborough

Ships Construction

The frame of the Schomberg was made of British oak with layers of Scottish larch fitted diagonally over the frame. An outer layer of red pine was reinforced with tar.

This design was called the diagonal principle and was said to be similar to the design of Queen Victoria's new yacht.

This design feature was found on pieces of hull washed up on the coast of New Zealand and these are thought to be from the wreck of the Schomberg.

The three masted ship was heavily sparred and carried a massive 16,000 square yards of canvas sail.

Special features of the Schomberg included ventilation ducts to the lower decks and port holes. Unfortunately the port holes leaked badly at sea.

First class passengers were treated to lavish accommodation including a dining saloon, smoking room, a library and bathrooms.

The Schomberg was a large ship measuring 288ft (87.8m) in length, 45ft (13.7m) in breadth, 29.2ft (8.9m) in depth at the hold and it had a gross tonnage of 2284 tons.

The Final Voyage of the Schomberg

Its cargo also included flour, though its not known whether this was for the journey, or for the colony.Sailing was slow but uneventful. On the 27th day out from port, Captain Forbes sighted a Liverpool bound clipper called the Vision.

Forbes and a boat load of passengers rowed across to the Vision and enjoyed an evening of dancing on the poop. When the two boats parted, the Vision took mail from the Schomberg's passengers back to England.

On Christmas Eve, some 78 days out of Liverpool, the vessel made landfall near Cape Bridgewater. Next day, Moonlight Head was sighted. The ship was sailing with a strong south-easterly wind and had to tack several times but made little progress.

In the evening the wind dropped and the ship was again heading in the direction of Moonlight Head. The gentle breeze made it difficult for the vessels to turn about and the ship was carried ;in thought the breakers and came to a grinding halt on a sand spit.

Neither the sands pit or the currents in the area were marked on Captain Forbes' charts. The sails were left up in case the wind strengthened and the ship freed itself from the sand bar.

However, the sails were eventually brought down and the anchor let go.During the night, a lifeboat was launched to locate a safe spot to land the passengers.

The boat returned and the crew advised Captain Forbes to wait until daybreak because heavy surf could easily overturn the small lifeboats.

At dawn, the ships Chief Officer saw the smoke of a distant steamer, the SS Queen. He sounded the signal guns to draw the steamships attention to the plight of the Schomberg.

The SS Queen, which was bound for Melbourne, approached the Schomberg and managed to take all passengers on board. Another steamer was sent by the Black Ball Lines agent in Melbourne to collect passengers' baggage.

Various steamers assisted with the unloading of cargo from the Schomberg, however when the weather changed for the worse, the task became impossible. Cargo was strewn over the beach and police had to patrol the area for looters.

The wreck and cargo were finally sold to a local firm of merchants however they did nothing to salvage what remained on board and Schomberg was again sold to a Melbourne businessman and two seafarers.

Two of the partners drowned as they attempted to row to the Schomberg. After that, all salvage attempts were abandoned.

Scandal On Board the SchombergBack in Melbourne, following passengers' complaints, an inquiry into the disaster and formal trial of Captain Forbes took place. Forbes, also known as Captain "Bully" Forbes, was accused of neglect of ducty.

Some passengers told tales of dangerous sailing and of Forbes strutting around the Schomberg with a loaded revolver. All of the officers on board the Schomberg were accused of being ungentlemanly and immoral.

Rumours spread of "half naked women" emerging from Captain Forbes' cabin at all hours of the night.

Forbes was apparently playing cards with two female passengers when the Schomberg ran aground. By the time he came up on deck and gave orders it was too late.

Captain Forbes was finally acquitted on the grounds that there was not enough evidence to show he had not used every precaution necessary to save his ship. Following his acquittal there was a public outcry.

Check this wreck on the Shipwreck Map

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