Hereward Cannon
Handover Ceremony
The Hereward was a British trading
vessel built in Glasgow in 1877 that
travelled between Britain and her...
colonies, especially between Sydney
and London. It was shipwrecked on
Maroubra Beach, Sydney on Thursday 5 May 1898 whilst
travelling from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) to
Newcastle New South Wales where it was to have picked up
a load of coal bound for South America. While travelling north
along the New South Wales coast on 5 May, it encountered a
large storm which destroyed the sails of the ship and blew it
towards the shore. The Hereward was forced onto the
northern end of Maroubra Beach, however it avoided the two
rocky reefs present there. All 25 crew members were safely
brought ashore and made their way to the nearby wool
scouring works to make the shipwreck known. The ship had
been insured by its owner for £6,000.
After a few months, the ship was sold for salvage and on 9
December 1898, they attempted to refloat the Hereward.
However, as the ship was nearly free, a southerly gale blew
up and pushed the Hereward back onto the beach where it
broke in two. The wreck was slowly washed out to sea
afterwards and by 1937 only a triangle dorsal fin was visible
above sea level. In 1950, Randwick Council fearing the
danger that the remains posed to surfers and swimmers and
began blasting the remnants. Further blasting occurred in
1965 and by Navy divers in 1966 and by 1967 it appeared that
there was nothing left of the ship.
In March 2013 after large seas, extensive portions of the
ships metal hull, along with mast and engine pieces were
exposed greater than they ever had been before. Thanks to
the efforts of recreational divers John Black, Paul and James
Wright and the NSW Police Diving Unit (Marine Area
Command) in conjunction with the NSW Office of
Environment & Heritage (OEH) the cannon was able to be
salvaged in a precarious recovery mission.
After being approached by the OEH in September 2013 the
Seals Club Board authorised the cost of restoration of the
cannon and it was shipped over to the WA Museum
Conservation Laboratories in Fremantle. The cannon was
then returned to the NSW OEH and a display cabinet was
built to house the cannon in order to be returned to Maroubra
to be displayed at the Seals Club for the first time in 117
years.
The cannon was officially handed over to the club
today, Thursday 7 December by Tim Smith, Director
Heritage Operations - Heritage Division to Maroubra
Seals Club President, Alan Langford with
representatives from various Government bodies and
the Seals Club present. Certificates were also
presented to the finders of the cannon, Paul and
James Wright and the Seals Club.
Maroubra Seals General Manager Peter Reid said the
Club became involved as the cannon was an important
part of Maroubra’s history, that it has been underwater
for over 100 years since the ship ran aground.
“We are a community club with 10,000 members and
we thought it was important for such an icon to remain
in the Maroubra community. Displaying it in the Club
gives everyone a chance to see this amazing piece of
local history.
“Everyone in Maroubra is aware of the Hereward
wreck, it’s always had an aura of mystique surrounding
it, as it would disappear and come back and there was
a history of people being aware to be careful in the surf
to avoid hitting it. “The cannon is very unique and we
have been pleased to be able to preserve it and
present it for our community.”
Minister for Heritage Gabrielle Upton has commended
the Maroubra Seals Club for their enthusiasm in
preserving one of our precious pieces of maritime
history through sponsoring the conservation works and
display at their premises. The public will be able to
freely access the cannon display in the foyer of the
club.