Monday, 15-June-1857 a British ship the ‘Evanee’ under the command of Captain Smith arrived in Port Robe with 406 Chinese passengers on board. Harry and his men were pleased that the enormous pressures of the past months were easing. By this time the locals were so used to dealing with the Chinese they barely took any notice. Port Robe was riding high on the prosperous times the Chinese had brought to it. Robe Town was thriving; new buildings were going up everywhere. The Chinese had injected thousands of pounds Sterling into the local economy.
Thursday, 25-June-1857 a Dutch ship the ‘Koning Willem 2 under the command of Captain Giezen arrived at Port Robe with 397 Chinese passengers and cargo. After the passengers were ferried ashore the cargo was unloaded. The ship was in ballast only with her full complement of crew. The ship was sitting high in the water.
A few days later the weather changed quickly; a strong gale began to blow from the northwest. Captain Giezen ordered the crew to let out the anchor chain to its maximum length. The ship began rolling in the heavy swell. The sea became more boisterous and huge waves began pounding the ship.
Harry was apprehensive. The Koning Willem 2 was taking a battering. He kept a careful lookout. He had a gut feeling that this situation would turn out bad.
Her anchor chain was only good for 60 fathoms; 120 fathoms of chain was necessary to withstand the storm. The ship was straining mightily on her best anchor. The crew were worried that the anchor would not hold. Suddenly the chain ripped through the hull; passed clean through to the windless, pulled out of the hawse pipe and flew into the sea.
The vessel was now completely at the mercy of the elements. The ship was driven relentlessly towards Long Beach. The crew knew they were in extreme danger. There was no way a rescue vessel could attempt to reach them.
The townspeople flocked to the scene to render assistance. Heavy surf made rescue difficult. By now the rigging was being smashed up and falling into the sea. The Koning Willem 2’s crew somehow launched a boat into the raging sea and crowded into it. Before the captain could board the launch; a sailor had to cut the line to save the launch from being swamped. It drifted away from the ship.
The launch was broadside on to the heavy surf. The crew attempted to swing the stern around but a large wave swamped and capsized the vessel. Those who could not swim were desperately trying to cling to the launch; but some were drowning. Others were carried out to sea by the drawback and lost. It was a terrible sight!
The rescue crew on the shore managed to get a line to the ship which was beginning to break up. Harry sent an urgent request to Lieutenant Burrows to send a detachment of soldiers to the beach to secure any belongings washed ashore. Sergeant Woodbine sent trooper Adcock along to help in the rescue. The danger was not only the heavy, pounding surf but also the wreckage and rigging in the water. One poor chap was almost to shore when he was caught in the drawback and washed on to some rigging and disappeared. Harry thought the chap had been stunned and then drowned.
Trooper Adcock did a sterling job; wading out into the treacherous surf to recover bodies. Dog fish were attaching themselves to some of the bodies. Some of the crew who could swim made it to shore but were exhausted from their ordeal.
Captain Giezen was the only man on the wreck. About ten o’clock that night the seas abated enough for him to try and get to shore along the rescue line. By now large fires had been lit on the beach to give light and warmth. Captain Giezen moved cautiously along the rescue line; he was bobbing up and down in the waves.
As he neared the beach his weight on the line caused him to drop repeatedly into the surf. The poor fellow was drowning only a few yards from the beach.
Harry being a strong swimmer went to his aid. Harry approached the water cautiously. He had not swum in heavy surf before. He learned to go with the waves and not attempt to breast the drawback. When the waves broke he went under them and clung momentarily to the bottom. When he reached Captain Giezen he helped the half drowned man to shore; guiding him along the rescue line. Both of them struggled through the breakers.
Next morning they counted the cost. From a crew of 28 they had recovered 15 bodies; 11 crew members had made it to shore and two had been swept out to sea.
Harry pondered this latest tragedy as he surveyed the wreckage of the Koning Willem 2. One hundred and twenty fathoms of anchor chain and the ship would have ridden out the gale. Most of the ships coming into port had not even had their anchor chains out of their lockers. They usually moored at wharves or jetties.
Fifteen coffins were quickly constructed. An air of sadness and loss pervaded Robe Town. There is something final about coffins lined up on a beach; in front of a shipwreck. A very solemn burial ceremony took place in the sand dunes of Long Beach.
Captain Giezen gave a short, moving message and praised those who had lost their lives. He also thanked those who had taken part in the rescue. A sombre mood pervaded Robe Town. This had been a very tragic incident; with many lives lost. The wreckage on Long Beach, yet again, was bearing mute testimony to another shipwreck in Guichen Bay.
Harry had to officiate at another salvage sale from a shipwreck. Many items were salvaged from the Koning Willem 2; including the ship’s signal cannon. Items such as doors and fittings eventually found their way into buildings in Robe Town.
The month of July was quiet; no China ships arrived. Harry and his men were getting back into their normal routines. However on Wednesday, 1-August-1857 a British ship with 560 Chinese passengers arrived. ‘I wonder what their reception will be on the goldfields.’ Harry thought to himself. News had come through from Victoria of another riot by white miners on the goldfields. Consequently the Victorian Government put a lot of pressure on the South Australian Government to stop Chinese coming through South Australia. The situation was being debated in the South Australian Parliament.
Another China ship, the ‘Salsette’ arrived on Friday, 14-August-1857 with 407 Chinese passengers.
News had been conveyed to Hong Kong that South Australia was preparing legislation to declare a poll tax on Chinese immigrants landing in South Australia. The flow of China ships dwindled.
The Colony of Victoria passed legislation making it compulsory for all Chinese miners to stay in prescribed areas on the goldfields. No longer could the Chinese miners pitch their tents wherever they liked.
A new poll tax of £4 was imposed on all Chinese entering Victoria other than by sea. The Victorian Government was desperate to stop the influx of Chinese coming to the goldfields. The British ideal of ‘white supremacy’ had to be upheld at all costs.
No China ships arrived in September or October. Harry was pleased that life was back to normal. The familiar sight of Chinese on the streets of Robe Town disappeared; however the town was busy with a building boom.
With so much money circulating around Robe Town its citizens were knocking down their wooden shanties and building solid limestone block homes and businesses. The Chinese invasion had resulted in prosperous times for the Guichen Bay area. Harry sent an official request to Port Adelaide for a dedicated building to handle the Customs’ work. A new building in the vicinity of the Royal Circus and the jetties would be preferable. The amount of revenue being collected at Port Robe was second only to Port Adelaide. Harry felt sure his request would receive a favourable response.
Captain Blakely received news that work had started on the Telegraph line at the Adelaide and Melbourne ends of the proposed route. It was anticipated that the overland telegraph line from Adelaide to Robe Town would be ready sometime in 1858. A submarine cable from Goolwa would pass under Lake Alexandrina and connect up with the overland telegraph line running to Robe Town. The overland telegraph line from Melbourne would come to Robe Town via Mount Gambier.
One lone China ship arrived on Tuesday, 10-November-1857. A British ship the ‘Lancashire’ under the command of Captain Young had 280 Chinese on board. Captain Young doubted if Robe Town would see any more Chinese; as restrictions in Victoria and legislation before the S
outh Australian parliament for a poll tax, had effectively cut off free overland passage to the Victorian goldfields.
On Tuesday, 1-December-1857 the South Australian Parliament enacted a poll tax law similar to Victoria to charge £10 per head on any Chinamen entering South Australia by sea. The China ships to Port Robe ceased.
As 1857 drew to a close Harry Medcroft reflected on the year gone by. Over 14,000 Chinese had landed at Robe and walked overland to the Victorian goldfields. Elizabeth Blakely had died as a result of nursing sick Chinese. Three separate shipwrecks had occurred at Port Robe; the last one with the loss of many lives. However, on the positive side the China ships had brought a lot of money into the local economy. The little town was booming; but the China ships’ era was over, and life was returning to the pre China ships’ routines. He wondered what the New Year would bring to Robe Town.