drownings

The Times (London) 24th Feb. There are lengthy accounts of the rescue, but it includes this: The tug with the nine men on board and the body of the man who had died on the island arrived at Waterford at 4 o'clock. A great crowd assembled on the quays to welcome the rescuers

According to this pamphlet put together by the O'Rourke family, there were 10 crew on the Mexico including the captain. Two launched the schooner's lifeboat, and were swept away to the coast. One died on the island, and seven were rescued, and brought by the tug to Waterford, which matches the photo. The guy in the middle is presumably Captain Ole Edvin Eriksen, of Fredrikshald, Norway.

I come from Fethard, so was disappointed to see Fethard-on- Sea rather than the decidedly inland town from Ireland's largest inland county! Great image though!

Niall McAuley That pamphlet is obviously a lot clearer than the contemporary newspaper accounts I've read, one of which appeared before the men had been rescued and which was put together from telegrams. Another twist to the story came the following month. On 19th March it was reported WRECKBREAKERS' PERIL THREE MEN ISOLATED ON A ROCK Grave fears are felt in Wexford for the safety of three men who for over a week have been living on the Keeragh Rock, the scene of the wreck of the schooner Mexico and the Fethard lifeboat. The hull of the Mexico was purchased shortly after the wreck by Mr H Murphy. Last week he put off in a boat with two workmen with the object of breaking up the bull. They took with them a week's provisions and have since been living on the orck under canvas. Owing to the gale that has been blowing on the coastfor the past five days they have been unable to come ashore. Signals of distress have been flying since Saturday, but the high seas have so far made it impossible for boats to put out to rescue them from their perilous position. I don't know what happened to Mr Murphy and his men. Perhaps they're still there.

Patrick Mc Donnell I read somewhere that some donations following the disaster were sent to the wrong Fethard, so they added 'on-Sea' to prevent any further misunderstandings.

A recent photo of the Dunbar memorial in Camperdown Cemetery, Sydney from john cowper:

Andy Brill Cheers thanks Andy & John! Great find :)

On the night of August 20 1857 during stormy conditions, the Dunbar slammed into the cliffs between The Gap and Macquarie Lighthouse. Sergeant Healey who was stationed in Sydney at the time, was sent to the scene of the disaster with 12 other policemen in his charge to police the site. While patrolling the cliff above the scene, two boys ran up to Sergeant Healey and said "Master, we saw a blue shirt shaking at the bottom of the rocks!". Healey immediately went to see for himself, but was unable to see any such distress signal. Healey then recruited two foreigners who were passing at the time, who assisted him by holding his legs as he stretched out further over the cliff, and after about 10 minutes was able to see the blue shirt waving. Healey immediately sent for a rope from the Pilot Station. The Pilot himself brought the rope which was lowered with a bag of sand attached, down to the survivor James Johnson. Johnson was then promptly hauled up to the cliff top. Sergeant Healey was the first to talk to Johnson and asked him if there was anyone else alive down there. Johnson replied that "I think I heard the boatswain on the next ledge to me last night." Healey then took Johnson to the public house, gave him a stimulant, and put him to bed. Mr. Thornton (then Mayor of Sydney) took Johnson's statement and Healey returned to the cliff top where the young lad Wollier had volunteered to be lowered down to look (unsuccessfully) for the boatswain. Sergeant Healey then took up a collection in his hat for the 'brave and venturesome lad'. When this collection amounted to around 10 pounds, Healey handed over the collection to Mr Thornton who had come back from attending Johnson, and Healey then went back to attend Johnson and stayed with him through the night. The next morning Captain McLerie, the Inspector-General of Police, came by Steamer from Sydney and took Johnson, Healey and others back to the city. On arrival they went to Kellet House, Darlinghurst, the residence of the Colonial Secretary Mr. S.A. Donaldson and after a conversation it was decided that Johnson would stay at Sergeant Healey's own residence. Healey supplied Johnson with a suit of his own clothes and he stayed with Healey and his family for 6 weeks while he assisted with inquiries and identification of the remains of the 121 people who lost their lives that night. As the sole survivor, Johnson became somewhat of a celebrity, and soon gained an appointment on a custom-house boat and proceeded to the Port Curtis gold rush near Rockhamption. Sergeant Healey was also sent to this gold rush around this time. Healey and Johnson remained friends and according to oral family history, Johnson was a frequent visitor to the Healey family home. This is my condensed version of the story straight from John Healey (The Kiama Independent, and Shoalhaven Advertiser (NSW : 1863 - 1947), Friday 9 September 1887, page 2) on the 30th anniversary of the event. John Healey was my 2nd great grandfather.