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Herald

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History

The 41-ton iron paddle steamer Herald was 22 metres long and assembled from imported frames.  The steamer was built in 1855 by Richard Johnson in Sydney Harbour, NSW, where she was registered.  On the 1st of April 1884, the boiler exploded while the vessel was 183 - 174 metres off North Head, Sydney.  The Master was George John Hall and there are believed to have been 2 crew members, but this is not certain. The wreck of the Herald was discovered on 3rd January 2013 by Scott Willan and Andreas Thimm, after Scott Willan reinterpreted historical remote sensing data to pinpoint her location. Scott and Andreas were presented with Historic Shipwreck Awards in April 2013 to recognise their discovery.

Database

Site information

Site ID: 1281
Type: Steamer paddle Construction: Iron
Primary industry: Sub-industry:
Gross tonnage: 41 Net tonnage: 22
Length (mtrs): 22.8 Beam (mtrs): 3.9
Draft (mtrs): 1.7 Cargo:
Engine:
Country built: AUSTRALIA State built: New South Wales
Port built: Sydney Harbour builder: Richard Johnson
Port registered: Sydney When built: 1855
Registration number: 85/1855 Official number: 59510
Sources: Sydney Mail 16/?/1909 (Mitchell Lib cuttings) SMH 8/4/1881, 2/4/1884 RBS Parsons, R 'Wrecks of Steamships in NSW'
Comments: Assembled from imported frames.

Lost event

When lost: 1884/04/01 Where lost: Sydney, North Head, 183 - 174 metres off
Wrecked/Refloated: Wrecked Sinking: Boiler exploded
From port: To port:
Master: George John Hall Owner:
Crew: 2~ Passengers:
Crew deaths: Passenger deaths:
Total deaths: 0

Location

Maximum latitude: -33.8234778772782 Minimum latitude:
Maximum longitude: 151.292920427711 Minimum longitude:
Datum used: WGS84
  Datum    Latitude    Longitude    Zone    Easting    Northing
AGD66 -33.82348286601750 151.29292042771100 56 342020.03557631300000 6256092.38357017000000
AGD84 -33.82348286601750 151.29292042771100 56 342020.03557631300000 6256092.38357017000000
GDA94 -33.82347791122260 151.29292042771100 56 342020.60011648900000 6256105.92267232000000
WGS84 -33.82347791034970 151.29292042771100 56 342020.60011568700000 6256105.92266566000000

Management

Found: Yes Inspected: Yes
Protected: NSW Heritage Act 1977 Jurisdiction: State
Protection notes:
Signage: Web address: