•
Aliquis, a ship captained by Gill and sailed from
Port Jackson to
Calcutta, was lost near Mount Adolphus Island, Torres Strait, in May 1839. There were no deaths. The crew were picked up by the ship
Argyle, also bound Sydney to India. • , an iron steamship of that was built at Dumbarton, Scotland in 1881. Owned by the
British India Steam Navigation Company and captained by Alfred Sanders, the ship was bound from
Brisbane to
London on 6 February 1890. It foundered when she struck a needle of uncharted coral in Mount Adolphus Channel, on 28 February 1890. 134 people died, and there were 158 survivors. A submerged rock had ripped through six water-tight compartments of the hull, from the bows to the engine room. Stokers were killed instantly as water rushed onto the boilers, causing them to explode. Lower-deck portholes burst under the water pressure, and the sea flooded in, swamping passengers asleep in their bunks. For half a minute the ship hung at a 45-degree angle, then she slid slowly beneath the surface. Within less than five minutes of striking the rock she was gone. ==See also==