The Admiralty anchor recovered from the wreck site in 1910 and later displayed at The Gap as a permanent memorial to those lost in the tragedy. Photo: Mark Spencer.

Collection
Australian National Maritime Museum, Powerhouse Museum and Woollahra Historical Society, Sydney Australia.

Object Name
Dunbar shipwreck collection

Object/Collection Description
Archaeological material removed or excavated form the immigrant ship Dunbar that was wrecked off the south head to Port Jackson in 1857. The collection consists of anchors, bottles, coins, buttons, spectacles, a telescope, sextant and cannon. The material is located in the Collection of the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM), the Woollahra Historical Society and private collectors. There was an amnesty in 2000 where a lot of material was donated to the ANMM.


Dunbar, c.1854, ANMM

The Dunbar was wrecked during a period of great social and economic growth in Australia. The Australian gold rushes of the early 1850s had created increased demand for imports and emigrants. This demand also boosted New South Wales agriculture, industry and commerce. Transportation and trade was dominated by British shipping. However, British ship design was seriously challenged by the introduction fast American clippers. The 1850s saw marked design innovations including the development of faster ships like the Dunbar.


Wreck of the Dunbar, South Head, Dr Doyle's sketch book / John Thomas Doyle & Samuel Thomas Gill, c.1862-1863, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

The Australian goldfields' demand for passenger ships led shipowners such as Duncan Dunbar to order the construction of a clipper from the English shipbuilding firm of James Laing and Sons at Sunderland in 1852.

Named after its wealthy owner, the Dunbar took more than sixteen months to build at a cost of over £30 000. When launched in 1853, the Dunbar was the largest vessel ever built at Sunderland. With a hull and frames of British oak and deck of East India teak, the Dunbar was a first class ship. It had a British lion figurehead, characteristic of a Dunbar ship. Because of the Crimean War, the Dunbar's initial use was as a troop ship. It was not until 1856 that the first visit was made to Australia. On arrival in Port Jackson, the Sydney Morning Herald flourished that 'the Dunbar is a splendid vessel". The Dunbar remained in Sydney for three months, returning to England that same year. By May 1857, the vessel and crew were ready for a second voyage to the colony.


Belt Buckle, Battle of Alma, 1854 -1857, ex Dunbar wreck. PHM

On the return voyage, the Dunbar arrived off Sydney Heads on the night of Thursday, 20 August 1857 in appalling conditions. Heavy rain and squalls reduced visibility to a few hundred metres, obscuring the sandstone cliffs at the entrance to Port Jackson. Captain Green had made a number of visits to Port Jackson and had been captain on the Dunbar on its 1856 voyage. On the approach to Port Jackson in 1857 Green misjudged the ship's position in relation to the heads because of the poor visibility. On the turn for the run into port he believed that they were approaching North Head. When the shout 'breakers ahead!' was heard, Captain Green, still believing their position to be north of the harbour entrance, ordered 'hard-a-port'. Instead of entering the safety of the harbour, the Dunbar crashed onto boulders at the foot of South Head.