I am attempting to establish the vessel that this “Good Luck Anchor” came from: -
The plaque accompanying the anchor states that it was found in Holdfast Bay and is believed to have been left there by HMS Buffalo.
My concern about that is that an anchor lost by HMS Buffalo was soon recovered by the ship.
According to Bing AI, HMS Buffalo had brought Free Settlers to the new colony of South Australia in 1836. The Buffalo was at anchor in Holdfast Bay for six months (28th December 1836 to 12th June 1837) serving as a home for Governor Hindmarsh. When I enquired about a lost anchor, Bing AI could only suggest that “It is possible that the anchor was left behind when the ship left Holdfast Bay after serving as a home for Governor Hindmarsh”.
Lost anchors, cables and shackles were a common problem for sailing ships back then. According to “HMS Buffalo” by Robert Sexton, on 28th May 1837, it was found that the cable on the best bower anchor had parted because the pin of the shackle bolt had worked its way out. The crew managed to find the cable and re-moor the ship.
Three days later, on 31 May 1837, Captain Hindmarsh gave up command of the ship to James Wood. Nine days later, on 9th June 1837, the small bower anchor cable parted during a heavy sea. It was several days before the weather moderated and the crew were able to search unsuccessfully for the lost anchor. On 13th June 1837, the crew resumed the search for the small bower anchor. They recovered the anchor and found that the shackle was missing.
So, if the small bower anchor lost in Holdfast Bay by HMS Buffalo was recovered, what is the “Good Luck Anchor” that was once displayed in front of the (now-demolished) HMS Buffalo replica on the banks of the Patawalonga Lake at Glenelg North?
According to the plaque adjacent to the anchor, “This anchor is believed to have been left in Holdfast Bay by HMS Buffalo”. When pressed further on the topic, Bing AI stated, “The Good Luck Anchor is a historic anchor located in the City of Holdfast Bay in South Australia. The anchor was originally used on the ship "Good Luck" which was wrecked off the coast of Glenelg in 1837. The anchor was recovered and has since been preserved as a historical artifact.”
Further, Bing AI stated, “I found some information about an anchor from the Good Luck. According to the Art Gallery of South Australia, there is a hand-coloured lithograph on paper from 1889 that depicts Glenelg in 1837. The lithograph is based on an original watercolour by John Michael Skipper and shows an anchor from the Good Luck shipwrecked off the coast of Glenelg in 18371. I hope this helps!”
I can not find, however, any record of any vessel called Good Luck that was wrecked in Holdfast Bay in 1837, or any other year, or any other vessel, so someone seems to have their wires crossed.
I found this photo of three divers from the Underwater Explorers Club of SA with an anchor that they had raised in Holdfast Bay: -
The wooden (teak) hull of HMS Buffalo measured Length 120 ft.; breadth 33 ft. 6 ins. (or 33 ft. 10 ins); depth 15 ft. 8 ins. That length equates to 36.5m. The Buffalo’s small bower anchor carried 9 fathoms (16.5m) of chain, if that tells us anything at all.
This “Good Luck Anchor” is about 3m long. Would that be a small bower anchor? If anyone can help, I hope that I can get to the bottom of all this.
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