D’Estrees Bay Self-guided Drive - Stop 3 - Osmanli Reef - SA

Walk to the lookout. Can you see waves breaking over a reef? Just before midnight
on 25 November 1853 the Osmanli, an iron-screw steamer en route to Port Adelaide,
struck this reef with great force. The 48 passengers and 35 crew members made
it safely to shore where they spent a cold night on the beach, before building a
makeshift camp the following day.
Two days later in heavy seas, Chief Officer Mr Gooch and a party of volunteers set
off in a lifeboat for Port Adelaide. Just after sundown they arrived at Cape Willoughby
Lightstation, where they organised for food and water to be sent to the stranded
survivors. The lifeboat then continued across Backstairs Passage where it met with
the Tamar, a schooner that towed the small boat to Port Adelaide.
While the lifeboat was away, Mr Nathaniel Walles (Nat) Thomas and Betty,
a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman, both from Hog Bay, carried fresh provisions
to the shipwreck survivors. Betty also located a freshwater soak nearby, greatly
enhancing the shipwreck victims’ chances of survival.
During the first few days following the disaster, the wreck was visited several times
to salvage provisions and clothing. Gold bars belonging to a passenger were never
found, however, and although some of the crew were accused and tried, they were
later released due to lack of evidence. The Osmanli was auctioned in Adelaide for
£230, but the wreck was destroyed in heavy seas before a successful salvage could
be completed. The government schooner Yatala was dispatched to aid the survivors, arriving on 1 December 1853.
Today the reef bears the name of this ill-fated iron-screw steamer. The Captain and
crew of the Osmanli were adamant that the Cape Willoughby light was not visible on
the night of the wreck. On several occasions in the first few years of operation, it was
reported that the light was not visible. This was attributed to the quality of oil used,
which caused excessive smoking, reducing the efficiency of the lamp.