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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  The Maritime Colleciton of Desmond Adcock
• Sale Date:
  22 Oct 2013 ~ 2.30pm
• Lot #:
  220
• Lot Description:
  Reginald Arthur Borstel
  (Australian, 1875-1922)
  Battle Abbey
  oil on board
  46 x 60cm
  signed lower left; inscribed temple west lower right
• Notes:
  Article In Newspaper The Leader, 7 February 1914 Burning Of Battle Abbey. Ship On Fire At Sea. - Sydney, Ôwednesday. A Stirring Story Of The Loss Of The British Barque' Battle Abbey, Bound From Newcastle To Vancouver, Was Brought To Sydney Yesterday By The American Mail Steamer Sonoma. Just Before The Mail Steamer Left San Francisco The German Barque Eilbek Arrived At Astoria, Oregon, With Captain W. Marsters, His Wife And Two Young Daughters, And Sixteen Of The Officers And Crew Of The Battle Abbey, Which Was Burnt At Sea On 28th December Last. On That Day The Vessel Was Abandoned, And Three Days Later The Castaways Were Picked Up By The Eilbek. The Battle Abbey Left Newcastle On 18th October For Vancouver, And Her Cargo Had Been Burning For A Week Or Ten Days Before The Question Of Abandoning Her Was Raised. The Weather Was Exceedingly Bad, And The Castaways, In An Open Boat, Suffered Severely, Though Their Provisions Were Ample. All Were Well On Arrival At Astoria, And Had Received Every Consideration Possible At The Hands Of The Officers And Men Of The Eilbek. Captain Marsters Of The Battle Abbey, Said:-Óon 18th October We Cleared From Newcastle In The Best Of Weather. For The First Three Weeks Everything Was Snug Aboard, And A Record Sail Across Was Expected. I Think We Had Been Out About Three Weeks When The Fire Was Reported In The Hold. The Coal Had Caught Fire. The Temperature Began To Rise Rapidly, And Although We Used Every Means At Our Disposal To Combat It, The Fire Spread Rapidly. On The Day We Deserted The Vessel And Took To The Boats The Temperature Was 138 Deg. We Abandoned The Ship Because An Explosion Was Imminent. The Weather Changed For The Worse The Day Before We Launched The Boats, And When We Were Finally Adrift The Sea Was Running High. The First Boat We Put Over The Side Was Smashed. The Second One We Got Over, But A Hole Was Stove In Her Before We Had Her Loose From The Davits. The Third Boat Was Our Only Salvation, And We Felt Devoutly Thankful When We Were Safe From The Burning Vessel. Though We Had Not Sighted Shore For Several Days, I Would Judge We Were 300 Miles Out To Sea. With Water And Provisions Sufficient To Last Several Days, We Pointed Our Course Toward Shore, And Put On Sail. That Afternoon We Encountered The Heaviest Gale We Had Experienced Since Weighing Anchor In Newcastle. The Waves Broke Over The Boat, And We Were Drenched To The Skin, But All Stood The Strain Nobly, And I Have' The Highest Praise For Everyone - The Wife And The Kiddies And The Crew Are A Family To Be Proud Of. We Put Off From The Battle Abbey At About Six Bells On The Morning Of Wednesday, And It Was About Midday On Friday Before We Sighted The Eilbek. The Boat Was Put About, And We Crossed The Ship's Course. They Sighted Us Soon After. "my Ship Was Surely Blown Up,Ó Concluded Captain Marsters. "she Was Smoking Fore And Aft When We Left Her, And The Gas Was Generating Fast.Ó The Battle Abbey Was Owned By Hind, Ralph And Co., Of San Francisco, And Was Registered Under The British Flag. She Was Of 1465 Tons, And Built Of Steel And. Was Launched In 1875. The Ship's Papers And Instruments And The Log Were Saved.
• Estimate:
  A$1,500 - 2,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.