HMS Sirius Wrecked on Norfolk Island 19th March 1790
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17 March 2022
This year is 232 years since the HMS Sirius founded on the Norfolk Island coastline. Living on Norfolk Island we all know the strength of the ocean and the care needed on the water especially in the coastal reef areas. The wreck of the HMS Sirius history is recorded on plaques and displays at Kingston and many of the artefacts recovered from the Kingston wreck site are proudly on display in the Norfolk Island Museum at Kingston.
The wreck of the HMS Sirius story has been well documented, and the following is information that I have read and learnt during the past ten years.
The HMS Sirius links to Norfolk Island started in 1788, when the vessel sailed as the flag ship for the First Fleet on the journey from England to Australia (New Holland). The first British settlers, the First Fleeters, which included convicts, sailors and military along with their families sailed to Australia and Norfolk Island. Foundation Day on Norfolk Island was on 6th March 1788, six weeks after Australia had been settled. HMS Sirius sailed under the command of Captain John Hunter and the HMS Sirius, was a merchant ship named “Berwick”, it had been purchased for the voyage.
Two years later, in 1790, after First Fleeters had settled in Australia and Norfolk Island, the food situation in Port Jackson were low and reports from Norfolk Island stated that the crops were successfully growing in the fertile soils. The last two remaining First Fleet vessels, HMS Sirius and HMAT Supply sailed to Norfolk Island in March 1790 with marines, convicts, along with children on board, in hope to relieve the pressure on the Australian settlement.
HMS Sirius brought no convicts to the colonies in 1788 but did transport convicts on the voyage to Norfolk Island in March 1790. There were 96 convict men, 65 convict women, 24 children of convict women, 39 members of a detachment of the Port Jackson Garrison, including four marine’s wives, one marine child and three civil appointments and 100 crew members.
When the two ships arrived in Norfolk Island, 1790, the marines and most of the convicts were put ashore at Cascade and the remaining cargo and passengers were to be unloaded at Kingston or Sydney Cove on the Southwestern side of Norfolk Island. The Kingston side of the island had proved to be more suitable for unloading, but there was a difficult reef to navigate, so conditions had to be right.
On 19th March 1790, there were strong winds again, which threatened the ships after they entered the bay. The HMAT Supply managed to turn around and headed out to safety, but the HMS Sirius was stranded in the bay, with onshore winds and currents making it impossible for the ship to avoid a reef lying 200 metres from shore. The crew were unable to tack against the prevailing wind, the HMS Sirius was thrown backwards on to the reef and its hull was damaged beyond repair. The HMS Sirius was wrecked on a reef at Slaughter Bay Norfolk Island, and was never to sail again.
The days and weeks which followed has many stories and documents, recording the hardship and endurance the remote Norfolk Island settlement experienced. There are excellent books available and interesting displays at the Norfolk Island Museums which are fascinating to visit. There is also a DVD “Search for the Sirius” which is about the 1983 and 2002 dive expedition and the artefacts recovered.
As part of their survival after the HMS Sirius was wrecked, the Norfolk Island sea birds the “Providence Petrel” or “Mount Pitt Bird” were collected from Mt Pitt to assist with food for the doubled population. The Petrel is a winter breeding bird and they nested in earth burrows up Mt Pitt in the forest, which is how it got the name “Mount Pitt Bird”. Eggs and birds became an important part of the meals and military diary ledgers were kept, so it is interesting to see the population of the birds at that time back in 1790. Over 171,000 birds were taken over a four-month period. One internet site I have read says “up to 5000 birds were taken each night”. This level of harvest continued until 1795, but the bird’s colony was also destroyed in the following years possibly also by rats and pigs. So many birds were killed, that there are no longer found on Norfolk Island, but in recent years there has been small breeding group found on Philip Island.
Many artefacts have been retrieved from the HMS Sirius wreck. They include three anchors and two eighteen pounder carronades. In 1983 and 2002 many of the objects were recovered by the dive teams during the official expedition. There are approximately 6,000 to 7,000 artefacts on displayed in the Norfolk Island Museum in the HMS Sirius Museum. Another anchor, as well as a cannon, are on display in Macquarie Place, Sydney, Australia. Other HMS Sirius artefacts including an anchor can be viewed at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. A detailed 1:24 scale model of HMS Sirius is displayed in the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. You can also view a small model of all the First Fleet ships are displayed in the Museum of Sydney. The Norfolk Island Museum collection is on permanent display and represents the most significant display of First Fleet cultural heritage material held anywhere in Australia and its Territories.
If you wish to learn more about the history and view the artefacts, visit Norfolk Island and the Norfolk Island HMS Sirius Museum, down in Kingston.
The HMS Sirius wreck site is protected by the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 and is listed on the Australian National Heritage List. The shipwreck of the HMS Sirius is our most significant links to a vessel of the First Fleet. Located in Commonwealth waters, southeast of Kingston Pier in Slaughter Bay, Norfolk Island, the archaeological remains of the HMS Sirius are the only known in-situ remains of a vessel of the First Fleet.
If you would like to read more about the HMS Sirius and the wreck site on Norfolk Island, please check out these internet sites:
http://norfolkislandmuseum.com.au/collections/hms-sirius/
https://www.nla.gov.au/stories/blog/treasures/2020/03/19/a-melancholy-loss
http://www.australianhistoryresearch.info/hms-sirius-her-final-voyage/
https://firstfleetfellowship.org.au/marines/the-wreck-of-sirius-at-norfolk-island/
https://www.navyhistory.org.au/sirius-hms-wreckage-recovered-from-first-fleet-flagship/
Attached are a few photographs I have taken at Kingston, Norfolk Island looking out to the Slaughter Bay reef area where HMS Sirus came to rest in 1790. I highly recommend visiting the Norfolk Island Sirius Museum and I have included images of the items recovered and on display.
Betty Matthews
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March 2022