Expedition · Coral Sea, 2012
Royal Charlotte
Do as emus do. A convict carrier wrecked on the Outer Route, and the castaways who followed two emus to safety on a sand cay.
Expedition tender floating on crystal-clear water in the lagoon · Image: Xanthe Rivett for Silentworld Foundation
Vessel
Three-masted convict carrier, 471 tonnes
Voyage
Sydney to India, with soldiers and families
Wrecked
The Outer Route, east of the Great Barrier Reef
Expedition
January 2012
Finding a Royal
Do as emus do
Royal Charlotte, a three-masted convict carrier of 471 tonnes, was sailing from Sydney to India with soldiers from several regiments and their families. Gale-force winds during the passage through the Outer Route, east of the Great Barrier Reef, drove the vessel aground on incorrectly charted rocks.
The crew and passengers tried to lighten the ship and float it off the reef by throwing as much as possible overboard, including the masts and two emus. Their efforts were futile, and it became clear they must abandon ship.
They made their way to a small sand cay nearby, led by the emus.
In January 2012, a collaborative expedition between Silentworld Foundation and the Australian National Maritime Museum set out to locate the remains of the vessel and the survivors’ camp on the cay.
January 2012
On the reef and the cay
Images: Xanthe Rivett for Silentworld Foundation.