The 2-masted, 271-ton wooden brig David Witton (NOT ‘Whitton’) was wrecked at Port Noarlunga during a storm in the early hours of 18th March 1839*. The ship, under the command of Capt. Arthur Wright, was returning to Port Phillip Bay to pick up some more sheep for South Australia.
* (Different dates from 14-17th have been quoted. The following plaque is one such example.)
As I wrote at David Witton anchor anniversary, “According to “South Australia – What’s in a Name?” by Rodney Cockburn….. Cockburn says that the vessel “had landed 1100 ewes at Port Adelaide from the Port Phillip district for Duncan McFarlane, of Mount Barker, and had been chartered for another similar undertaking, when she missed stays in a gale, and was wrecked at the mouth of the Onkaparinga.” He says that the steam flour mill at Noarlunga had been erected by Stephens, Phillips and Dehorne.”
There were no casualties when the 90’-long ship apparently sank close to the mouth of the Onkaparinga River*.
* (According to “Shipwrecks in South Australia – 1836-1875)” by Ronald Parsons, the ship “was sent, stern first, onto a rock under the bluff SOUTH of the entrance to the Onkaparinga River ….. but the David Witton (that gave her name to the rock) was a total loss.”, yet Witton Bluff is to the north of the mouth of the Onkaparinga River. The bluff in question may be Onkaparinga Head.)
Parsons states that the David Witton (was 271 tons (old measurement), 90’ long, 26’.7” wide and 16’7” draught. It was built in 1833 in Monkswearmouthshore, near Sunderland, England. It was owned by Wittons and registered in London, England.
As I wrote at David Witton anchor anniversary, “It was hoped that the brig could be re-floated but continuing rough seas led to it being auctioned as a total loss. A lot of her gear was saved though, including spars, rigging, timber and sails. Her foremast was used as a semaphore at Glenelg. 30,000 English bricks were also auctioned and were used in the walls of several of the old homes in the Noarlunga district.
Some of the ship’s hull was used to build a barge called Onkaparinga, for use on the Onkaparinga River. As I wrote at David Witton anchor anniversary, “Some of the material from the David Witton was used to construct the Onkaparinga, a shallow draught vessel which was used on the Onkaparinga River. The Onkaparinga was equipped with lee boards and had a carrying capacity of about 20 tons. She began carting materials up the Onkaparinga River for the construction of the Noarlunga steam flour mill late in 1843.”
It seems that the wreck was re-discovered by divers in November 1969, but there is some confusion as to who found it. It was reported in The Advertiser of 1st December 1969 that three divers had found the wreck on 30th November. The divers were Wade Hughes, Ron Moon and Con Penglis. The newspaper called the wreck a brigantine. Then it states that the ship “was crippled by a north-westerly gale off Glenelg in January, 1839*. The divers think the gale drove her on to Horseshoe Reef off Christies (B)each as she tried to find shelter.
* (Ronald Parsons states that the ship “cleared from Holdfast Bay on Saturday evening, March 16, with a strong breeze from the south west. The strength of the wind increased during the night and worked up to a full gale on the 17th.” There’s no mention of a north-westerly gale there.)
The three divers found wreckage off Christies Beach. Some people have more recently reported finding some wreckage, to the south of Christies Beach, at Witton Bluff. The three divers were planning to make an intensive search for the shipwreck on the Saturday following their discovery on 30th November. It seems that none of them were ever members of the Underwater Explorers Club of South Australia. I say that because three divers from the UEC of SA claim to have found the ship’s anchor ‘near Port Noarlunga reef’ and four divers raised it in November 1969 (prior to the 30th?).
The three divers that claim to have found the anchor were Ray Sedunary, Colin Morphett and F.Griffin. The four divers that raised the anchor were Doug Seton, Ray Sedunary, Colin Morphett and Dick Hannam. Sadly, at least two of these people have since died. They were both in their 90s. The anchor is said to be a bower anchor (from the bow). They raised it using two 44-gallon (200 litre) drums pumped full of air to bring it ashore for treatment, something similar to this photo of the large anchor now located on the Port Noarlunga reef: -
(Photo courtesy of Igo Oak)
Here is a cropped version of a map drawn by David Cowan showing the Witton Centre at Port Noarlunga where the anchor from the David Witton is now located by the car park: -
Map courtesy of David Cowan
This is the location of the anchor at Witton Centre: -
I celebrated the 50th anniversary of the raising of the anchor by the UEC of SA divers in 1969 during SDFSA Scuba Week in November 2019: -
I may have passed on a little information about the raising of the anchor to the UEC of SA recently. I am currently still in touch with Con Penglis, Doug Seton’s widow and possibly Ray Sedunary’s son.
South Australian Archaeology Society Facebook group member, Amanda Ward recently measured the anchor and took some up-to-date photos.
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