Quetta Shipwreck

When Wrecked: 28 February 1890

Location: Far Northern

Barque rigged steamship, 3302 tons. She was built by W.Denny Bros at Dumbarton, Scotland for the British India Steam Navigation Company. She was manned by British officers and a mixed Singhalese and Indian crew. In February 1890, she was en-route to London via the Torres Strait after embarking passengers at Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Included amongst the passengers were 71 Javanese cane cutters; some with their families who boarded at Mourilyan to return home after working on the North Queensland cane farms. The vessel struck a rock pinnacle in the Adolphus Channel and despite having been built with seven water tight compartments, she sank within three minutes. Of the 290 people aboard, only 157 survived.