Kapunda (ship)

The Kapunda about 1880

The Kapunda was a British emigrant ship which sank on 20 January 1887 after colliding with the Ada Melmoure, a barque, off the coast of Brazil.[1] The Kapunda was an iron-hulled ship of 1,095 tons, owned by Frinder, Anderson, and Co. It was heading from London to Fremantle, Western Australia, with a crew of 40, carrying 279 emigrants as well as general cargo.[2] At 3:20 am on 20 January 1887, the Kapunda collided with the 549-ton Ada Melmoure, bound from Coquimbo to the United Kingdom with a cargo of manganese ore. The Kapunda was hit near the bow of the ship, and sank so quickly that no lifeboats could be launched.[2] Nine people managed to climb aboard the Ada Melmoure, six found a small boat in the water and boarded it, and the Ada Melmoure lowered a boat that picked up one crew member. These 16 were the only survivors; the other 303 aboard perished.[2] On 25 January 14 of the survivors transferred to the French barque Ulysses, which took them to Bahia. The other two survivors stayed with the Ada Melmoure, landing at Macei after it too sank.[2] A total of 303 passengers and crew, including Captain John Masson, lost their lives in the disaster.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Great Disaster At Sea - Loss Of Two Or Three Hundred Lives". Illustrated London News. 5 February 1887. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The Loss of the Kapunda: Details of the Disaster". Belfast Morning News. 23 February 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 18 March 2016.

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