"Flung from the rock, on Ocean's foam to sailWhere'er the surge may sweep, the tempest's breath prevail."
"Flung from the rock, on Ocean's foam to sailWhere'er the surge may sweep, the tempest's breath prevail."
—Byron.
On a sunny summer's day, in the year 1850, three little girls were playing on thegreen slopes overlooking the sea at Port Macquarie. "Look!" said one of them to her playmates, "what are those little dots out on the sea?" All three now stood in amazement, watching the little specs which were being wafted nearer and nearer as each emerald wave of the ocean hurried onward to its destination—the shore. They were not specs very long; it was soon discernible that they were boats, but who were the occupants? This was a question yet to be solved. The pilot boat went off, but the people in the other boats bore such a rough appearance that the pilot was almost afraid to go near them. At last a member of the pilot's crew recognised one of the men in the strange boats, and they then proceeded to go alongside. A tale of shipwreck was now related. It transpired that some time previously one of the shipwrecked crew had left Port Macquarie for the Californian goldfields, whither there was a general rush from most parts of the world. Now he was returning, but not under very auspicious circumstances.
The fact was that the barque "Rosetta Joseph" had left San Francisco about the 15th October, 1850, bound for Sydney. All went well with her until the 2nd day of December following, when to the dismay ofall on board, the ill-fated vessel struck upon a reef, known as the "Elizabeth Reef," at 11 o'clock on a Sunday night. There was no hope of saving the ship. The passengers, captain, and crew managed to leave the wreck by means of the boats, and 48 souls in all left the vessel, 32 being in the largest boat, and 16 in a smaller one—the third and smallest boat being used as a sea-anchor. A course was then steered for Port Macquarie, and after eight days and nine nights their destination was safely reached on the 11th December, when they landed at a spot known as Boat Harbour. This object was not accomplished, however, without the usual adventures of the sea. Two gales were encountered while in the boats, and it was during the first of these gales, in the open sea, that the third boat was made into a sea-anchor, and they then lay-to till the weather abated. The second gale arose when the boats had made the coast, and were off a spot known as Point Plomer, near Port Macquarie. Here they again lay-to, but were driven to the south, the next place that land was sighted being off the Camden Haven river. From this place they steered north towards Tacking Point, as some of those on board, from previous experience of the coast, knewwhere they were. On arrival at the Boat Harbour, the boats being too large to enter, the pilot boat brought a few of the shipwrecked persons in at a time till they were all safely landed.
The experience at sea was a perilous one, and those in the boats suffered terribly from exposure. At one time it was thought that the second largest boat and its occupants were lost. A huge wave swept over her, and for a short time she seemed swallowed up, but a few seconds later she reappeared on the crest of another wave, the occupants being engaged in bailing water for their lives. A box of gold valued at £30,000 was put into the largest boat on leaving the ship, but when the first gale was encountered it had to be jettisoned, as well as all the passengers' clothes, with the exception of what they wore, in order to lighten the boat. There was only a limited supply of food in the boats, too, and a small quantity of this, together with a cup of water, was served out to each person every day, because they did not know how long it would be before land was sighted. So that besides losing the gold, the food supply in the boats was none too large.