SS Malabar

The "SS Malabar" was a P & O mail steamship of 917 tons launched in 1858 which was lost in Point de Galle harbor on 1860-05-22 [cite book | last = Mackenzie | first = Compton | authorlink = Compton Mackenzie | title = Realms of Silver | publisher = Routledge & Kegan Paul | date = 1954 ] .

The passengers had embarked on the Malabar when a gale from the northeast drove the vessel's stern on to a reef. The water began to rise in the ship's rear section and the captain opted to beach the ship in a sandy bay on the opposite side of the harbor. However, the sand turned out to be loose and almost like quicksand, and it was decided to give the order to abandon ship. There was no loss of life. [cite book | last = Elgin | first = James Bruce | authorlink = Lord Elgin
title = Letters and Journals of James, Eighth Earl of Elgin | publisher = John Murray | date = 1872 ]

The passengers included Lord Elgin and Baron Gros, the British and French plenipotentiaries to China and Times journalist Thomas William Bowlby, who later published an account of the wreck. [cite web |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,682-1149039,00.html |title=A Times man in war-torn China |accessdate=2008-01-03 |last= Bowlby |first= Ronald |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2004-06-18 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher= The Times |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

It was reported that the Malabar's cargo included 1,080 boxes of bullion, worth nearly £300,000 and 725 chests of opium [cite book | last = Bowlby | first = Thomas William | authorlink = Thomas William Bowlby | coauthors = C.C. Bowlby | title = An Account of the Last Mission and Death of Thomas William Bowlby | publisher = Privately printed by C.C. Bowlby | date = 1906 ]

Notes

References

*cite web | last = Swiggum | first = S. | coauthors = M. Kohli | title = P&O Line fleet | work =
publisher = [http://www.theshipslist.com/index.html TheShipsList] | date = 2006-06-25 | url = http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/pando.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-01-03
* [http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/0/6/1/10610/10610.htm Letters and Journals of James, Eighth Earl of Elgin] (Online version at Project Gutenberg)