A small ceremony was held on May 23 to mark the 150th anniversary of the sinking of the British Admiral on King Island shores.
Mayor Marcus Blackie spoke to those in attendance at the marble monument at the southern end of British Admiral Beach.
Students from King Island District High School, with the Historical Society, laid wreaths on the shoreline in remembrance of the tragedy and those who lost their lives.
“The British Admiral set sail on February 23 with 88 souls consisting of crew, 49 passengers, including 11 women and a number of children,” King Island Historical Society President Luke Agati said.
“Five of the crew and four passengers survived the tragedy. The wreck of British Admiral and the great loss of life on King Island’s shore was the catalyst for the erection of the Currie Lighthouse.
“Its construction finally put an end to the huge loss of life and major shipping disasters seen along King Island’s coastline before then.
“On 23 May, the British Admiral was under easy sail, as the crew were anticipating the Cape Otway light at around 2.30am. About 3am, a crew member on forecastle duty shouted ‘land ahead.’ It was then discovered that the British Admiral was ‘standing right on to King Island.”
The vessel crashed and sat fast on a reef not far from shore. Captain Taylor, ‘at once gave the order to clear the boats and call up the passengers’. The sea’s fury took everything and everyone on deck and within 20 minutes the ship slipped below into 7 fathoms of water.
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