On the afternoon of the 19th of March 1915 the Hornet sprang a leak (as a consequence of the breaking of the bolts in the stern band of the steamer) and foundered at sea, 4 miles south of Sydney Heads. Of a crew of three, the owner and the two stokers John Boake and – Talt, the latter drowned and the other two were rescued in “exhausted condition” by the crew of the pilot steamer Captain Cook.
The Hornet was mastered by the owner, Thomas Rose, and was travelling from Sydney to Botany Bay carrying 40 tons of coke. The 55 ton iron screw steamer was 22.4 metres long and was powered by a non-condensing, direct acting 1 cylinder engine (10 diameter cylinder). The collier was built in 1883 in Pyrmont, Sydney Harbour, and registered in Sydney.
