Wreck of the brig Centaur

The iron brig Centaur sank three kilometres off the coast at North Beach on 9 December 1874, which on passage from Champion Bay to Fremantle. It hit Little Island Reef, now known as Centaur Reef, and sank. All crew and passengers escaped in lifeboats.

In 1873 the Centaur had arrived in Rockingham (then an important timber loading area in the Port of Fremantle outer harbour) for water and stores on their way to Melbourne from Champion Bay with her cargo of ore. She was described by one of the local Perth newspapers of the time as “One of the pioneer of traders between this colony and Melbourne”.

It was a three week voyage from Melbourne, across the rough waters of the south coast of Australia before the Centaur was safely berthed in Fremantle. Most of the general cargo that she carried was unloaded there, and a varied cargo it was, including spirits, tobacco, cases of nails, wagons and angora goats. The colony’s first quartz crushing battery was landed from the Centaur in 1874. It was installed and opened in October of that year near the North Fremantle Bridge. The Government of the day hoped that it would be used to crush the gold ore that they eagerly anticipated would be discovered in commercial quantities. Timber was often loaded aboard at Rockingham to supplement the cargo to Champion Bay, where most of it was used by the ship’s charters, the Melbourne Champion Bay Lead Mining Company, for constructions in and around their mine at Narra Tarra, approximately 25 kilometres north-east of Geraldton. 

The Centaur was under the command of Frederick Brabham, the fourth skipper in the last eighteen months. The previous master, Captain Edgar, like those who had preceded him, was dismissed because his last voyage had not been as fast as his employers would have wanted. On the 4th December 1874, the Centaur left Champion Bay loaded with the usual return cargo of galena (lead ore) packed in bags in the hold, totalling 200 tonnes. With the brig under way, Brabham was probably anxious to make good time back to Melbourne lest he suffer the same fate as Captain Edgar. 

Beside the crew of nine there were four passengers bound for Fremantle. Amongst them were two very important people of the colony, the first being the surveyor General and Commissioner of Crown Lands the Hon. Malcolm Fraser, the other Septimus Burt, M.L.C., an influential businessman and lawyer. He had been in Geraldton as defence lawyer for two cases of sheep and cattle stealing. Malcolm Fraser had also been in Geraldton where, earlier on 22nd October, 1874, he had been a member of Governor Weld’s official party at the “turning of the first sod” for the beginning of the Geraldton-Northampton railway. Malcolm Fraser was regarded as one of Western Australia’s most efficient and respected government officers. He was responsible for the first accurate lithograph maps of the whole coastal region of Western Australia. Later, as Sir Malcolm Fraser, he became Western Australia’s first Agent General in London. The two remaining passengers were Messrs. John Lazenby and William Perry. 

Since leaving Champion Bay, the Centaur had battled adverse winds the whole way, and the Captain would certainly have been glad to hear his first mate, James O’Neil, report the sighting of Rottnest Island at 3:30 p.m. on the 9th December, the sixth day of the return voyage, as he was already well behind his schedule. The sea was flat and glary; hazy conditions prevailed. To take advantage of the strong southerly breeze that was now blowing, Brabham put the brig on a starboard tack that sent it heading SE by E, or approximately in the direction of Trigg island. 

All appeared well. Mr Fraser was below in his bunk reading a book and Mr Burt was peering through his “glass” (telescope) periodically at the homestead of his friend, Mr Hamersley, drawing ever nearer. 

The homestead with its three large chimneys would have been a distinctive landmark, perched high on the side of Mt Flora, the only building on that section of coastline. The North Beach hotel now occupies the entire site where this historic building once stood. Meanwhile, Captain Brabham, deciding that he had gone close enough to the coast, gave the order “all hands ‘bout ship”. This brought the crew hurriedly on deck. To ready the brig for a change of course, the Captain took the wheel from able seaman Peter Hayman, who went forward to help the first mate. The rest of  the crew were at their stations, but the final order “ ‘bout ship” never came, for a few minutes later at 5:00 p.m. without any warning, the Centaur struck the reef at 6 ½ knots, the momentum carrying her fully onto it. 

Shocked, Brabham immediately set about the task of freeing his stranded ship from the grip of the reef. He soon realised that the task was hopeless, for even with the sails “full aback” the brig would not budge. The reason was that the Centaur’s usual draft of 3.3 metres would have been one metre deeper than the depth of water over the reef on which she was now impaled. The rudder was soon smashed off by the incessant battering of the larger swells, which broke against her and with it went any remaining hope of freeing his ship, so Brabham finally gave the order to “abandon ship” while she still stood in an upright position. 

The two lifeboats were lowered over the port side, quickly followed by the passengers and crew. Malcom Fraser and Septimus Burt managed to save their portmanteaus, but the Captain was able only to rescue his treasured writing desk, thought he also tried in vain to retrieve the mail. 

The lifeboats all last pulled clear of the Centaur under the charge of the Captain and First Mate, and about five minutes later at 5:30 p.m. the Centaur crashed over on to her beam end on the port side. Soon all that remained of the hull above water was a small section of the starboard poop. 

At 7:00 p.m. the lifeboats landed on the beach near the spot now known as Hamersley Pool. The party then set out for the Hamersley homestead one kilometre further north where, upon arriving, it was reported “they were most hospitably entertained by Mr Hamersley”. On 16th December 1874, at the subsequent Court of Inquiry held in the Court House, Fremantle, Captain Brabham, along with his crew and passengers, claimed that the Centaur was a least 6 - 9 kilometres from shore when she struck. The court adjourned until the following day to allow navigating lieutenant Archdeacon R.N. who had been sent to the colony to chart the approaches to Fremantle harbour, to survey the wreck site. 

The next day the inquiry resumed and Lt. Archdeacon confirmed that the wreck was near to 2.5 km from shore. With this evidence, the court of Inquiry found Captain Brabham “Solely to blame for the wreck of the Centaur for incautiously allowing the vessel to stand on an ESE course on the starboard tack until she struck at 2.5 km. from the beach, when the general chart in his possession showing the whole of that part of the coast to be dangerous at a distance of 2.5 km from the shore”. 

The Court of Inquiry recommended to Governor Weld that Brabham’s licence be suspended for six months. However, Brabham petitioned Governor Weld, claiming that his past record was good and that it would cause hardship to his wife and family in Melbourne because he would certainly lose his livelihood if he was without his licence. When Governor Weld read the petition and especially the references from Brabham’s two very influential passengers, he decided to reduce the suspension to three months. The limestone reef that claimed the Centaur almost had an earlier victim. On a misty night in August 1872 the brig Nightingale of 220 tons picked up a pilot off Rottnest Island and proceeded toward Fremantle. Sometime later without warning, she grazed and luckily, bounced over a reef. The anchor was lowered and when the mist cleared the next morning, the crew were amazed to find that they were 20 kilometres north of their intended destination, Fremantle harbour. The Nightingale had passed over the same section of reef which was to claim the Centaur two years later.