Falls of Halladale

The "Falls of Halladale" was a four-masted iron-hulled barque that was built in 1886 for the long-distance bulk carrier trade. Her dimensions were 83,87m x 12,64m x 7,23m and she displaced 2085 GRT and 2026 NRT. She was built for the Falls Line (Wright, Breakenridge & Co., Glasgow, Scotland) at the shipyard of Russell & Co., Greenock on the River Clyde. She was named after a rather small waterfall on the Halladale River in the Caithness district of Scotland. The ship's design was advanced for her time, incorporating features that improved crew safety and efficiency such as elevated bridges to allow the crew to move between forward and aft in relative safety during heavy seas.

The "Falls of Halladale" was the seventh vessel in a series of eight similar iron-hulled sailing ships, all built by Russell & Co and all named after waterfalls in Scotland. The "Falls of Halladale" was preceded by the "Falls of Clyde" (1878), the "Falls of Bruar" (1879), the "Falls of Dee" (1882), the "Falls of Afton" (1882), the "Falls of Foyers" (1883) and the "Falls of Earn" (1884). The "Falls of Halladale" was followed by a sister ship, the "Falls of Garry" (1886). The "Falls of Clyde" is afloat today and is a major attraction at the Hawaii Maritime Center in Honolulu.

The "Falls of Halladale" is best known for her spectacular demise in a shipwreck near Peterborough, Victoria on the shipwreck coast of Victoria, Australia. On the night of November 14, 1908 she was sailed in dense fog directly onto the rocks due to a navigational error. The crew of 29 abandoned ship safely and all made it ashore by boat, leaving the ship foundering with her sails unfurled. For weeks after the wreck large crowds gathered to view the ship as she gradually broke up and then sank in the shallow water.

Soon after the accident the ship's master, Capt. Thomson, was brought before a Court of Marine Inquiry in Melbourne and found guilty of a gross act of misconduct, having carelessly navigated the ship, having neglected to take proper soundings, and having failed to place the ship on a port tack before it became too late to avoid the shipwreck. Capt. Thomson's punishment included a small fine and he had his Certificate of Competency as a Master suspended for six months.

Today the "Falls of Halladale" is a popular destination for recreational divers. The wreck is easily accessible by scuba divers about 300 m offshore in 3 to 15 m of water. The hull lies on its collapsed starboard side. Some of the original cargo of 56,763 roof slates remains at the site of the wreck along with corroded masses of what used to be coils of barbed wire. Twenty-two thousand slates were salvaged in the 1980s and used to provide roofing at the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. An anchor that was recovered in 1974 is on display at the village. The wreck of the "Falls of Halladale" is a legally protected Historic Shipwreck.

References

*Loney, Jack Kenneth, "Falls of Halladale", Marine History Publications, Geelong, VIC, Australia, 1976, ISBN 0-909244-18-9.

External links

* [http://www.ship-modelers-assn.org/fam9812.htm Falls of Halladale]
* [http://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/page.asp?ID=243 Final voyage of the Falls of Halladale]
* [http://www.clydebuiltships.co.uk Clyde-Built Ship Database]
* [http://www.flagstaffhill.com Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village website]