Nemesis

History

On Friday the 8th July 1904 the Nemesis, under control of Captain Lusher, left Newcastle for Melbourne with its hold full of coal and coke.  The vessel immediately ran into a southerly gale and was last sighted by the S.S. Marloo off Wollongong. At some point Nemesis appeared to have turned or was driven back towards Sydney, as a vessel in distress was sighted off Port Hacking that night (Sydney Morning Herald, 13 July, 1904).  Rockets were also seen off Port Hacking and wreckage later observed washing ashore at Cronulla Beach. Thirty-two hands were lost in the accident.  Part of the steering wheel was later recovered on Cronulla Beach and a few days later, a single body washed ashore.

The 73.4 metre Nemesis was built in Whitby, United Kingdom, in 1881.  The 1393 ton single screw steamer wth an iron hull was powered by a compound engine. The vessel could reach speeds of 12 knots. The Nemesis was registered in Melbourne under Huddart Parker Ltd with the intention of concentrating on the coal trade from Newcastle.  Huddart Parker then rented wharf space in Darling Harbour and its vessels began carrying cargo from Melbourne to Sydney only.  Huddart Parker fit the collier with accommodation of an intermediate standard, not as expensive as first class, but better than steerage (Plowman 1981).  August 1890 saw the Nemesis operating to Western Australia during the 1890s gold rushes (Parsons 1918).  It remained as a passenger carrier till the last years of the century when it was relegated to collier status. 

From: Maritime Heritage Online Site