In 1971, it took the use of ten 200L drums full of air for two divers from the Geelong Skindiving Club to raise the largest of the anchors (2 ton) from the 1891 wreck Joseph H. Scammell at Torquay, Victoria.
Here is a photo just for illustration purposes: -
(Photo courtesy of Igo Oak)
Three anchors are said to have been raised from the wreck, the largest one weighing 2 tons. That anchor is now on display on the foreshore near Point Danger.
Four 200L drums were required to lift another anchor weighing ¾ of a ton (680.389 kg)
in 1970. A third anchor, possibly of 6cwt (272.155 kg), was in diver Geoff Nayler’s private collection, but he says that it is now in the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum. The ¾-ton anchor is said to be on display by the Torquay boat ramp (Fishermans Beach?), but Geoff says that it is actually at the Torquay Yacht Club (Torquay Sailing Club?).
I found this photo of an anchor at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum at https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/1a/27/1c/ce/queenscliffe-maritime.jpg : -
An anchor at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum
(There seem to be several anchors at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum (& the Queenscliff Cruising Yacht Club).)
I’m writing about this because I recently received an enquiry from a man at Torquay: -
“I live in Torquay Victoria and swim around the wreck area of the Joseph H Scammell most mornings now that my surfing days are over. My question is something not mentioned. Where have these anchors been made/cast? Concisely…where was the main Scammell anchor now mounted on Torquay beach made? It is good work that needs to be acknowledged.”
That brought me to research the topic, mostly using my three Victorian wreck books:
“Wrecks and Relics” by Geoff Nayler
“Shipwrecks along the Southern Coast” by GA (Geoff) Nayler
“Skindivers & Shipwrecks” by Doug Denmead
With a little help from the Internet, I found: -
The 3-masted, 1010-ton wooden Canadian ship Joseph H. Scammell was wrecked at Point Danger near Torquay, Victoria on 7th May 1891. Built in 1884, the ship was a pine-built clipper bound for Melbourne with a cargo of general merchandise from New York. The ship measured 67.97m X 11.948m X 7.7724m, with a registered tonnage of 1410.58.
This is how one of the ship’s anchors looked when it was brought ashore in the 70s: -
(Source: “Shipwrecks along the Southern Coast” by GA (Geoff) Nayler)
This is how one of the anchors appears online at both https://www.torquayhistory.com/places/scammell-anchor/ and
According to https://www.torquayhistory.com/places/scammell-anchor/ , the anchor was “towed back to the beach ramp, winched up and sent to Geelong to be sandblasted and treated. After preservation was completed the anchor was returned to the foreshore and mounted with the plaque describing the fate of the Scammell.”
According to https://www.torquayhistory.com/brief-history-of-torquay/education/saving-the-scammell/ , “the anchor on the foreshore is pointing to the location of where the ship came to grief”.
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_H._Scammell_(ship) , “Joseph H Scammell was built at Eatonville, a small village in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. …. in 1884 it was the centre of a large lumbering operation and a substantial shipyard. In 1884 the yard was run by the Scammell Brothers who named the ship after one of the family patriarchs. The ship was launched in September 1884 and registered at Saint John, New Brunswick, the nearest large port. She would sail under a Canadian flag for her entire career.”
This photo of the Joseph H. Scammell appears in each of the aforementioned books and online pages: -
The Joseph H. Scammell wrecked at Torquay in 1891
Here is Geoff Nayler’s map of the location of the Joseph H. Scammell wreck: -
(Source: “Shipwrecks along the Southern Coast” by GA (Geoff) Nayler)
Here is a photo of the plaque accompanying the anchor: -
“Joseph H. Scammell Shipwreck
Newly erected plaque (July 2005) telling the story of the Shipwreck.
Plaque erected by the GOR (Great Ocean Road) Coast Committee of Management”
(Source: https://www.pbase.com/torquay/image/47525446 )
I am unable to answer that enquiry that I received at this stage, not without a bit more support. That enquiry again, was: -
"Where have these anchors been made/cast? Concisely…where was the main Scammell anchor now mounted on Torquay beach made?"
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