My great, great grandfather, Captain Charles Harris, was the captain of a sailing ship, the Waitematta. On the
5th August 1859 he was a passenger on the
Admella, an iron screw steamer plying its trade between Adelaide and Melbourne run at the time of the Australian gold rush. The
next morning the Admella beached on a reef off the coast of South Australia and the engines and middle section of the boat
fell away leaving the remaining passengers and crew stranded on the bow and aft of the wreck. Reports indicate that Captain
Harris was something of a hero, searching for food and water in the half sunken boat and organising the building of a raft.
It took over a week for the remaining few survivors to be rescued. Unfortunately, Captain Harris died before he could
be rescued.
I find his story fascinating. I am going to be as accurate as possible to the times and the Admella
so it’s taking a lot of research.
