The Ly-ee-Moon Disaster. -Green Cape.-The Wreck

Very rare engraving of the wreck of the Ly-ee-Moon.

The Ly-ee-moon left Melbourne for a regular trip to Sydney on the afternoon of Saturday 29 May 1886. There were around 80 people on board, including 41 crew, 23 adults and three infants in the saloon. The rest were steerage passengers. She was in the charge of Captain Webber, who was to be called when the ship approached Green Cape, the most prominent point in southern NSW and not far over the NSW border. The third officer, James Fotheringham, was on duty as the ship approached the cape. By the time the captain arrived to take control, around 9pm on a clear night with perfect conditions, it was too late for him to steer the vessel away from the rocks. Within ten minutes of striking rocks, the Ly-ee-moon was effectively destroyed, split in two.

From the original edition of the Town and Country Journal.