Two Gartcraig bricks recovered from the shipwreck of the ‘Carlisle Castle’ off the coast near Penguin Island, South of Fremantle, Western Australia.
Tony Tapper writes – I was a National Park Ranger on Penguin Island. This small island is a sanctuary for Fairy Penguins. The Island lies south-west of the Port of Freemantle. A number of unknown wrecks have been reported around Penguin Island. A diver brought ashore 2 Gartcraig bricks to the Island after a dive some 30 years ago and left without further interest. There is a possibility that the diver in question actually found them at Coventry Reef which lies 3 nautical miles off Penguin Island where the Carlisle Castle was wrecked after a long journey from Glasgow to Freemantle and was wrecked in July 1899. This was a large fully rigged ship.
Wreck details source. – The ship was built in 1868 by R and H Green of Blackwall, London, England. It was owned by J Robertson and the captain was Captain James Lindsay (50), It was the captain’s first voyage aboard this ship although he was a very experienced sailor and had sailed the route many times.
It was sunk on 11/07/1899 during a force 10 gale off the Western Coast of Australia at Warnboro Rockingham Coventry Reef. The crew of 24 were all lost. It had been sailing from Glasgow (stopped off at Liverpool) to Freemantle. She left the Clyde on 21/03/1899. The cargo is listed as rail lines and general and was valued at £40 – 50,000.
Wreck information.
15/07/1899 – Dundee Courier – The loss of the ‘Carlisle Castle’. A strange premonition. Captain James Lindsay, of the Carlisle Castle, the Clyde steamer which has been reported lost off the coast of Australia, is an Aberdeen man. It appears that Captain Lindsay before sailing had a premonition that something would happen to the vessel, and handed over his watch to his wife before going on board. So great a hold did this idea take on his mind that his wife, who often accompanied him to sea would not go with him. Mrs Lindsay was urged by the owners to accompany her husband, but she firmly declined and thus has been saved from the fate which has overtaken him.
Below – 01/09/1899 – Ross-shire Journal – Shipping disaster.
Below – 19/07/1899 – Aberdeen Press and Journal – Captain James Lindsay, Carlisle Castle.
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The following bricks were found in Suriname, South America by Marnix (John) Visser. Marnix states – I have found several bricks on an old Scottish plantation in Suriname South America with the name Waterloo and located in Nickerie at the border with Guyana. James Balfour was the plantation owner. . . Below – Hurlford –…
Found by Hector Miguez in the area of Mendoza, Argentina. Prestongrange Brick, Tile and Fireclay Works, Prestonpans, East Lothian. . . . .
Found by Michèle Côté and Marc Trudel on the beach along the Gaspé shore of Percé, Québec Canada. The ‘Gartcraig’ brick is most definitely Scottish. It was found near to a brick stamped ‘Vulcan’ which may also be Scottish as ‘Vulcan’ is a trademark of Campbell & Co, Roughcastle Fireclay Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. (However, ‘Vulcan’…
Many thanks to Bruce MacDonald for the following photographs which were taken at The Sunbury Plantation House, St Philip Parish Barbados. All the bricks present were fire bricks and included English manufacturers such as Ruffors of Stourbridge, Cowen of Newcastle and Duddell of Fenton. 90% of the bricks present appear to have been stamped ‘Glenboig’….
Many thanks to Charlie Terry for the following photographs and information. Charlie states – My great-grandfather worked at the Beaconsfield and Lefroy gold mines in Tasmania. He was an assayer. Some of the bricks are still in their original boxes and have been stored in a shed for decades. Below – An example of one…
This brick is in the possession of John Hicks, West Monroe, Louisiana, USA. John is uncertain where the Docken brick was found in the USA as he picked it up at a brick swap meeting. James Dougall & Sons Ltd, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. Alternative brickworks include: Bonnyside Brickworks, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. .
Found by Joe Fletcher at “Turonville” in Tarana, NSW Australia. The property is a farm dating back to the 1850s. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
The following Scottish bricks were found by Tracie Perrie on the shore at Borden, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Below – ‘Glenboig’. Glenboig Union Fireclay Company, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Alternative brickworks include: Glenboig Star Fireclay Works, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Glenboig Fireclay Works, (Old Works) Glenboig, Lanarkshire Below – ‘Gartcraig Scotland Gaskil’. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow….
Found by Dr Ali Asghar Hemmati in an old building previously belonging to the Iranian oil company located in Haftgel City in the province of Khuzestan, Iran. James Dougall & Sons Ltd, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire Alternative brickworks include: Bonnyside Brickworks, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. . .
Found by Jeffrey Valli on the railroad tracks in Truro, Massachusetts, USA. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
