Sinking of the Georgette near Busselton W.A.

My GG Grandfather Joseph Brand was a sailor on boats that moved passengers and supplies between Fremantle, Western Australia and Albany on the southern coast in the 1860s-1870s.

In 1876 I believe he was on the ill-fated coastal steamer Georgette which sank off the south west coast of W.A. According to the Fremantle Herald of 9/12/1876, the Georgette left Fremantle and was on its way to Adelaide laden with a cargo of timber and a large number of passengers. She sprang a leak miles from shore at midnight on 30 November and foundered off the coast between Cape Naturaliste and the Leeuwin. The article reported the engine room was flooded so she headed to the shore, and was beached. A life boat was lowered with passengers but sank. Some passengers made it to shore and many were assisted by a young local girl, Grace Bussell and her helper Sam Isaacs. 12 died.

12 October 1876 Georgette crew list, source “Ancestry.com.au”

The list of survivors included “A. Brand, able bodied seaman”.

A search of shipping records has found only records for a “J. Brand”, able bodied seaman or fireman, on other vessels working on the coastal vessels in this period. In particular, a record shows J. Brand, working on the Georgette on its voyage of 10 October 1876, so I believe the initial “A” to be an error and is very likely to actually be J. or Joseph Brand.

Fortunately he survived the sinking and made it to shore with other crew and passengers. Joseph continued working as a mariner until his death in 1880.

Joseph Brand, merchant seaman from Liverpool

My gg-Grandfather was Joseph Brand who was born in 1834 in Liverpool, Lancashire.

His father died before his 3rd birthday, in 1837. Joseph’s mother must have struggled to raise her children, and is found in the 1841 census in a slum area of Liverpool. Sadly his little sister Mary died when she was 5 years old, from scarlet fever, in 1840.

The website Findmypast has placed merchant seaman’s records online and I found a record for Joseph Brand, from Liverpool.

Joseph worked as a sailor on merchant ships out of Liverpool and came to Western Australia where he worked as an able bodied seaman on the ‘Rob Roy’ which was a coastal vessel sailing between Albany, Fremantle and Geraldton.

I believe Joseph was also on the ill-fated ship ‘Georgette’ when it sank in 1876 off the coast of South West W.A. He died in 1880 in Albany W.A.