The Postboy (ship)

The 60 ton schooner "Postboy" was built at Port Adelaide in 1874. The schooner was owned by Messrs. Weman and Morgan registered at Port Adelaide.

Captain James Thomas was in charge of the schooner "Postboy" on 15 December 1876 about 11-12 miles (20 km) off Glenelg when a sudden squall struck. She was returning from Port McDonnell, South Australia to Port Adelaide, South Australia, with a small cargo of bark and stone ballast and seven people on board. The wind pushed the vessel bodily over and she lay on her side with sails floating in the water.

Captain James Thomas was drowned and his body was found on Kircaldy Beach on 26 December 1876. His wife Sarah was pregnant with daughter Edith Emily at the time.

"Postboy" was refitted but was eventually wrecked at Arno Bay, South Australia in 1905, and was said to have been burnt on the beach. The figurehead of "Postboy" is in the South Australian Maritime Museum at Port Adelaide. She was a regular trading vessel between Port Adelaide and the gulf ports.

The vessel One and All, built at North Haven as part of South Australia's 150th jubilee project, is based on a design of the "Postboy".

External links

* http://www.history.sa.gov.au/maritime/maritime.htm
* http://www.history.sa.gov.au/maritime/collections/figureheads.htm