Australian Historical Medals (1788-1885)

Lot 756    SESSION 3 (John Chapman Collection, 2.30pm Tuesday)    Australian Historical Medals (1788-1885)

Estimate $10,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $15,000

THE WRECK OF THE STEAMSHIP 'ADMELLA', 1859, in silver (51mm) by DeGruchy and Leigh (Sydney), De G & L on truncation to ground, obverse, a scene of the wreck with 'Hope to last' on a ribbon, divided by an anchor, legend around rim 'The Admella Steamer wrecked on her passage from Adelaide to Melbourne off Cape Northumberland (6 Aug,1859)', reverse, a corded border outside a wreath enclosing, at top of the All-seeing eye, legend in field 'Awarded to 'John F.Johnstone' by the Victoria Colonists for Heroic Exertion in Saving Life (under Divine Providence) from the wreck of the Admella'. Good very fine and extremely rare, a classic Australian medal.

Research discloses that this medal was struck at the Sydney Branch of the Royal Mint. The steamship 'Admella' of 500 tons was built in Glasgow in 1857. Taking her name from the first syllables of ADelaide, MELbourne and LAunceston, she commenced service between Adelaide and Melbourne in August 1858. The following account is reproduced from the S.A.N.J. July 1950 'The Steamship, 'Admella', left Port Adelaide on Friday, August 5, 1859, bound for Melbourne carrying 82 passengers and a crew of 31. Included in the cargo were four racehorses which were to take part in the first Melbourne Cup. The story of the tragic loss of the ship is one of epic heroism mixed with almost unbelievable ill-luck which dogged the rescue attempts. Late on Friday afternoon, due to a heavy swell, a mishap occurred to one of the horses, soon after the 'Admella' had passed Cape Willoughby and the ship was brought around so that the frightened animal could be quietened. The change in course apparently caused some confusion because of the lack of landmark and the subsequent misreading of the compass. Around about 4.30 on Saturday morning the ship ran onto Carpenter's Rocks, a sunken reef between Robe and Port MacDonnell. The tragic story from then on is of disappointments and failures in the rescue attempts. It is difficult to believe that, although only a mile from the shore and less than 24 hours steaming distance from Port Adelaide, it was a whole week before the survivors were taken off. By a series of mishaps, the ship's lifeboats were all lost and by Sunday morning more than half of those aboard had been washed off the sloping decks or thrown when the forepart of the ship broke up. Two of the crew managed to get ashore on a make-shift raft on Sunday afternoon and proceeded on foot to Cape Northumberland lighthouse some twenty-odd miles away. The keeper of the lighthouse, Captain Germein, was later to figure prominently in the rescue attempts. With their numbers diminishing daily and without food or water, the 56 who remained aboard on Sunday morning were to spend five more days of prolonged horror witnessing futile attempts to rescue them. It was not until Saturday, August 13, that the half demented remainder, only 22 including the captain and the sole woman survivor, were taken off. Of the fifteen children and thirty four women aboard, only one woman was saved. By an ironic twist of fate, the four racehorses were rescued and one of them actually took part in the Champion Stakes in October. Adam Lindsay Gordon's poem 'From the Wreck' is said to describe his own ride carrying the news of the 'Admella'. Because of this link a bound volume of the official report on the disaster was added to the Dingler Dell collection of Gordon's relics at Mount Gambier in 1989. Stirred by the tragic loss and the heroism of the rescuers, the Victorian Colonists were instrumental in having a medal struck in London for presentation. This was made at a special gathering in the Exhibition Building in Melbourne on June 28, 1860. A total of 3 gold and 33 silver medals were awarded. John F.Johnstone was a school teacher, he held a distress rocket in his bare hands in attempting to get a line to the wreck.