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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ005110S
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00:24 Titanic, Mary Rose, USS Arizona, Britannic, MV Wilhelm Gustloff,
00:32 and RMS Lusitania. What do all these ships have in common? 00:36 Well, they all sank. These are some of the most famous 00:42 shipwrecks in history and their stories of loss are told 00:46 and retold to each new generation. 00:49 We seem to be captivated by shipwreck disaster 00:53 and the desperate struggle of the crew and passengers 00:57 to survive. It's estimated that there are about three million 01:02 shipwrecks lying on the ocean floors across our planet. 01:06 Over 8,000 of them are found in Australian waters. 01:11 One of these shipwrecks was discovered by the Australian 01:15 National Maritime Museum in 2009 and involves an amazing 01:21 story of escape convicts that circumnavigating in Australia. 01:25 The discovery of two major rivers, links to Napoleon, 01:30 and rescue and reunion. Join me as we sail this 01:36 seas on a voyage of discovery to find out more about this ship 01:41 that was built in India, commissioned to the British Navy, 01:44 carried out survey and exploratory work in Australia 01:48 and finally met its end on a jagged coral reef. 01:54 But the story doesn't end there, this shipwreck 01:57 is linked to a series of four other shipwrecks that are 02:02 all involved in one of the most amazing family reunions 02:06 of all time. 02:21 The ancient Sea Port of Whitby is a beautiful and picturesque 02:26 seaside town clinging to the coast on the edge of 02:30 the Yorkshire Moors in England just over 400 km 02:34 north of London. It's renown for many things, 02:37 the finest British fish and chips, sandy beaches, 02:41 an arch made of a whale's jaw bone, and with the Abbey ruins 02:46 that were the inspiration of Brian Stoker's well-known 02:50 novel "Dracula." 02:52 but perhaps what the area is best-known because of its most 02:57 famous son, Captain James Cook who is considered to be one of 03:02 the greatest navigators and explorers of all-time. 03:05 In 1770, Cook mapped the east coast of Australia and paved 03:11 the way for British Settlement in Sydney Cove in 1788. 03:16 Twenty six years after British Settlement in New South Whales 03:20 a lesser known son of Whitby, a young sailor named 03:24 Peter Richardson ran away from home and joined the British Navy, 03:29 he left behind a heart-broken mother. 03:33 A mother's love in unique and unconditional and desperate 03:38 to find her run-away son she eventually contacted the navy 03:43 officials. Their response was not what she wanted to hear, 03:48 Peter had left the navy after serving his term and they had 03:53 no idea where he had gone but she never gave up. 03:58 After 14 long years of searching the mother received news 04:04 that her son may be in the new colony of New South Whales 04:07 at the other end of the earth. 04:09 It was a long and dangerous voyage for a woman on her own 04:15 but undeterred she booked a cabin for the four months trip 04:20 on the City of Leads passenger ship bound for Sydney 04:24 hoping to find her long-lost only son. 04:28 Meanwhile in New South Whale, the young run-away sailor 04:34 Peter Richardson signed up to work on the ship Mermaid 04:39 on a run from Sydney with stores and government dispatches 04:43 for Fort Wellington in Raffles Bay on Melvin Island in the 04:47 Arafura Sea on the north coast of Australia in what is now 04:52 The Northern Territory. 04:54 The ship became well-know when Lt. Philip Parker-King 05:00 of the Royal Navy was commissioned to sail the Mermaid 05:04 between December 1817 and December 1820. 05:08 His job was to explore and survey the unchartered coastline 05:13 of Australia missed in the Matthew Flinders 05:17 circumnavigation survey. Sailing north close to the coast, 05:22 King conducted a survey of the Inner-Route through the 05:26 Great Barrier Reef to open it for commercial sailing ships. 05:29 He continued his surveys around the top end of Australia 05:34 until the Mermaid ran aground and was badly damaged. 05:38 King brought the ship into Careening Bay in the Kimberly 05:43 Region of Northwest Australia for some makeshift repairs. 05:47 While he was there in October 1820, King carved HMC Mermaid 05:55 1820 into the trunk of a conspicuous Boab Tree 06:00 that still can be seen there in the bay today. 06:03 With great difficulty, the ship was re-floated and limped back 06:09 the thousands of kilometers to Sydney. 06:11 The Mermaid was sold to the Colonial government in Sydney 06:16 and changed to a two-mast schooner. 06:18 In 1823 under the command of the explorer John Oxley, 06:24 the Mermaid sailed north from Sydney to survey and explore 06:28 the coast of the colony South of Portis Curtis 06:32 now Rock Hampton and Queensland. Oxley discovered the Brisbane 06:37 and Tweed Rivers during that voyage as well as rescuing two 06:40 stranded convicts from the Morton Bay area. 06:43 Thomas Pamphlett and John Finnegan who guided Oxley 06:48 around Morton Bay and along the Brisbane River and the site 06:52 of a new colony that became Brisbane. 06:55 But on the morning of the 10th of May 1829, the Mermaid with a 07:01 crew of 18, including Richard Peterson and three passengers 07:06 under the command of Captain Samuel Nulbro left Sydney 07:11 for Port Eddington. Nulbro was under strict instructions 07:16 to follow the safer but longer passage through the hazardous 07:20 Barrier Reef to the Torres Straight but he decided to risk 07:24 the more dangerous route. 07:26 On the morning of the 13th of June 1829, during a storm 07:32 the Mermaid struck an uncharted Coral Reef, Captain Nulbrow 07:37 gave the order to abandon ship. The crew and passengers 07:42 swam from the shipwreck to a large rocky outcrop about 07:47 60 meters or 200 feet from the wreck. All 21 men huddled on the 07:53 rock for three miserable days until the brigg, the Swiftsure 07:59 rescued the stranded men. 08:01 Now the Swiftsufe had a very interesting history 08:05 it was built in France and launched in 1811 for the 08:09 French Navy under the original name Inconstance which played 08:15 a crucial role in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte 08:18 more than 200 years ago. 08:20 Napoleon Bonaparte regarded by many as one of the greatest 08:26 military commanders in history and was the emperor of France 08:30 1804 to 1814. After losing more than 350,000 men 08:37 ion his march in Russia in 1814 Napoleon abdicated as Empower 08:44 of France and was exiled to the Island of Elba, of the coast 08:48 of Italy. On the 26th of February 1815, Napoleon 08:54 escaped the island on a ship, the Inconstant and was 700 08:59 loyal men marched to Paris where he ruled for 100 days. 09:04 It's believed that the ship Inconstant was taken as apprised 09:09 by the British in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo 09:13 rename the Swiftsure and eventually used in the England 09:17 to Australia run. 09:19 So, by 1828 the Inconstant, now named the Swiftsure was sailing 09:27 the waters around Australia and on its way from New South 09:30 Whales to Mauritius, it rescues 21 men from the Mermaid 09:35 on a rocky outcrop and continues it's way north. 09:39 On the fifth day after the rescue on the 4th of July, 1829 09:45 the ship was caught in a powerful current and swept 09:49 broadside onto the rocks along the shore. As the Swiftsure 09:54 begins to break up. The captain orders all to abandon ship. 09:59 Fortunately all 14 crew from the Swiftsure along with the 18 10:07 crew and three passengers from the Mermaid safely made it 10:11 to shore where later that day they were gratefully picked up 10:15 by a third ship a Schooner Governor Ready 10:19 with its own crew of 32 and continued sailing north. 10:23 Now, the Governor Ready had been built on Prince Edward 10:27 Island, Canada in 1825. She was bought by a British owner 10:33 and was registered in Lloyd's Register in 1826 for trade. 10:39 The ship made two voyages transporting convicts 10:43 from England and Ireland to Australia. 10:46 Now these convicts were men and women who were found guilty 10:51 of a petty crime in England during the 18th and 19th 10:56 centuries. Originally they were sent to the American colonies 10:59 but after the American Revolutionary war, 11:03 it was no longer possible to send English criminals there 11:06 as servants so the British the government looked to the newly 11:10 discovered the East coast of Australia as a new colony 11:14 for the prisoners to relieve the over-crowded English 11:18 prisons. The first fleet of convicts sailed for Botany 11:23 Bay in 1787, they were used for free labor in public works 11:28 or assigned to private individuals as domestic servants 11:33 or rural workers. The transportation of convicts to 11:37 Australia lasted for 80 years and ceased in 1868. 11:42 In all about 164,000 people were sent to Australia 11:49 in 806 ships to start a new life. The Governor Ready's 11:55 convict voyage in 1827 trans- ported 131-mile prisoners to 12:02 Tasmania. The ships second convict voyage left from 12:06 Hawkins Island with 200 mile prisoners and sailed for Sydney 12:11 in late 1828. But now on the second of April, 1829 the 12:18 Governor Ready records showed that it left Hobart with 32 crew 12:23 bound for Batavia, present day Jakarta, Indonesia 12:28 with a stop-over in Sydney. As it sailed up the coast 12:32 towards Cape York, it came across the stand of men and rescued 12:37 the entire crew of 18 men and three passengers from the wreck 12:42 of the Mermaid and 14 crew of the Swiftsure. 12:45 Although it was crowded on the vessel, all 67 crew, and passenger 12:51 were relieved to be sailing in such a trustworthy ship. 12:55 But unbelievably, about three hours later the schooner 13:00 the Governor Ready caught fire and the flames roared through 13:05 the wooden ship. 13:07 Everyone on board was forced to abandon ship and climbed 13:12 into the lifeboats. Fortunately they were found drifting in the 13:17 Coral Sea by the Government Cutter The Comet who had also 13:21 been blown off of course by a storm. 13:24 Now, when the crew of the Comet heard the story of the three 13:28 shipwrecks, they didn't welcome their new rescued passengers 13:33 aboard, they were very suspicious and expected trouble. 13:37 They feared that a calamity would befall them also. 13:41 Well, can you believe it, five days later a violent storm 13:47 snapped off the Comet's mast and ripped away her sails. 13:51 When the ship began to sink the 18 crew and three passengers 13:56 from the Mermaid, the 14 crew from the Swiftsure, the 32 crew 14:01 from the Governor Ready and now, the 21 crew from the Comet 14:06 were all facing shipwreck together. 14:10 The only longboat or lifeboat on board was lost but it was not 14:15 but it was not large enough to fit all the crew in it 14:18 so the rest of the passengers kept afloat by clinging to 14:22 driftwood and the ships wreckage. For 18 long hours the men in the 14:28 water drifted in the ocean worried about getting separated 14:33 from each other in the dark of the night or being taken 14:36 by sharks. Then, just as a group of 88 crew and passengers 14:41 saw that there was little chance of rescue along came a 14:46 small vessel called Acatta and they were rescued again 14:47 for the fourth time and not a single life had been lost. 14:54 The fifth ship, the Jupiter was a crew of 38 men were sailing 15:00 to Western Australia when she rescued the 88 crew 15:04 and passengers. It was a small ship and so now was truly 15:09 reaching its capacity with all the extra men on board. 15:12 The men were just settling down for a warm night on deck 15:17 when unbelievably disaster struck yet again. 15:23 The ship hit a small coral reef near Carincross Island 15:28 that tore a hole in the keel and made her unseaworthy. 15:32 Dismayed, the now 123 men of each crew including the five 15:40 captains of the ships and the three passengers a total of 15:45 one hundred twenty-six men found themselves in the water again. 15:50 They managed to find safety on a small sand island 15:54 and all the castaways huddled together on the sandy outcrop 15:59 that's five shipwrecks in a row. 16:02 Fortunately, the passenger ship the City of Leads 16:08 on its way from Sydney was sailing nearby and saw the 16:14 stranded men, five ships had been lost and the crew of the 16:19 Mermaid including Peter Richardson had been shipwrecked 16:23 five times and yet not one life had been lost. 16:27 So here's a short review of the amazing sequence of events. 16:32 In 1829 a ship called the Mermaid was caught in a massive 16:38 storm that struck the ship and drove it into a reef 16:42 all 21 people on board died and were able to swim to safety. 16:47 Three days later, the Swiftsure rescued them, five days later 16:53 the Swiftsure sank. Crew and passengers from both ships 16:57 the Mermaid and the Swiftsure were rescued by the Schooner 17:01 Governor Ready. Three hours later the Governor Ready caught fire 17:06 and sank. The Comet rescued everyone and brought them 17:12 aboard. Five days later the Comet sank, 18 hours later 17:18 the mail boat Jupiter pulled everyone out of the ocean. 17:22 In under 12 hours the Jupiter sank, everyone was rescued 17:28 by the Passenger Vessel the City of Leads that was sailing 17:32 to Sydney where it docked four days later. 17:35 What an incredible sequence of events, what an amazing story. 17:42 The basics of this story were first published in the Sydney 17:46 Gazette and other publications. On the 26 of November 1829 17:51 only a few months after these events took place and so 17:56 the story of the five Ship- wrecks was considered accurate 18:00 and was believed by everyone. But recent research raised this 18:06 questionnaire grading the accuracy of some of the dates and details. 18:10 Now, even more, amazing than these shipwreck facts 18:15 is the story of one of the passengers aboard the City of 18:19 Leads. Remember the English woman who was traveling from 18:22 Whitney to Sydney? Well, her name was Sarah Richardson 18:27 and before she fell ill, she had told her fellow travelers 18:31 on the ship that she was going to Australia in the hopes of 18:32 of finding her son. She was searching for her son Keaton 18:40 who had run away from home and joined the Navy 15 years ago. 18:44 Now, as the survivors of the five shipwrecks were describing 18:48 their harrowing experiences to the passengers on the City 18:53 of Leads, the captain and doctor on board heard some Yorkshire 18:57 accents. Suddenly the doctor on the ship interrupted, 19:01 I need a Yorkshire man about 35 years of age to come with me 19:06 and visit a sick lady, she has prayed for weeks to see her son 19:10 again but this morning she lapsed into unconscious 19:15 for a while. But just now she is calling her son's name again. 19:21 The doctor continued, I think if one of you could just hold 19:26 her hand and tell her you are her son, she might rally enough 19:30 for us to get her safely to Sydney. 19:33 One of the deckhands from the ship Mermaid said 19:36 their be Yorkshire men and Yorkshire men and each area 19:41 has a different accent. Unless you get the right accent 19:46 the old lady will know, it's not her son. 19:49 She is from Whitby replied the ship's doctor, 19:53 then I may be able to help offered a young man. 19:59 I am 34 years old and I am from Whitby. You'll do perfectly 20:04 said the doctor, now just get the name right. 20:08 It's Peter Richardson. Well, the young man's turned white 20:14 and pale, he braced himself against the wall. 20:18 What's wrong with you said the doctor? 20:21 Tears started to run down his cheeks as he stammered, 20:25 I am Peter Richardson, please take me to see my mother. 20:32 When the ailing mother heard the voice of her long-lost son 20:35 her eyes fluttered open and with joy looked into the face 20:41 of her son. The son she loved and had prayed to see 20:44 for 15 long years. 20:47 After five shipwrecks and what seemed like a series of terrible 20:51 misadventures the rescue ship was the very one that the 20:56 praying mother was traveling on in her quest to find her son. 21:00 How true and accurate the story is, I don't know, 21:06 but this I do know. Each of us has a mother whose unconditional 21:11 love has made an impact on our lives. A mother's love for a child 21:17 is one of the deepest and strongest forces in the world 21:21 its impact cannot be measured. 21:27 There's another story of a mother's love, 21:29 of the hopelessness and despair when her son is lost. 21:33 It happened many years ago in the small town of Main 21:37 in Israel, back then the town of Main was known for its 21:41 beauty but this mother couldn't see any of it because her heart 21:45 was broken and filled with sadness. 21:47 Now the village of Main then had only one approach 21:53 up a narrow and rocky road from the east. On this day two groups 21:58 of people met on this road. First, there was a large and 22:03 excited crowd who were following Jesus and His Disciples 22:07 from Capernaum. Now, as this jubilant group neared 22:11 the village gate, a hush fell over the crowd as they met 22:15 another group of people, a funeral procession 22:20 heading in the opposite direction. Heading towards 22:23 the cemetery. As the sorrowing group emerged from the town 22:27 onto the road, you could hear the weeping and wailing of those 22:32 in the group. This poignant sentence tells a sad story. 22:40 At this time in this culture parent's depended on their 22:49 children and especially sons to care for them and support 22:53 them in their old age. Now this grieving mother 22:58 certainly had plenty to weep about. 23:00 The death of her much-loved son meant that not only would she 23:05 be lonely, but also possibly destitute because now 23:10 she lost both her husband and her son. 23:13 She has lost her sole earthy income, support, and comfort, 23:18 she had lost everything. 23:21 As the mother moved on blindly and weeping she did not even see 23:26 the other group approaching until Jesus spoke to her. 23:29 Here's what the Bible says in Luke 7:13. 23:42 Can you sense the gentleness, the understanding, 23:45 the tender sympathy and the personal interest in this mother 23:50 that words reveal? Jesus was about to change her immense 23:55 grief to immense joy. Jesus then reached up and touched 24:01 the beor, the open coffin and signaled for the pall-bearers 24:06 to halt. In a clear or authoritative voice He said this. 24:11 Young man, I say to you "Arise", the dead man opened his eyes, 24:19 sat up and began to talk. And Jesus gave him back to 24:25 his mother. Can you imagine the joy of this reunion? 24:29 Jesus watched as the mother and son unite in a long and loving 24:35 embrace, overwhelmed. the two crowds looked on in silence. 24:41 There is no greater love on earth than a mother's love 24:46 it's enduring, steadfast, and unrelenting. 24:51 Just as we have seen in the experience of Peter Richardson 24:55 his mother's love followed him wherever he went. 24:59 And this kind of love helps us to understand how much God 25:06 loves us. The Bible tells us that God likens His love 25:12 to a mother's love. Here's what it says in Isaiah 66:13. 25:23 No matter what has happened in your life, or where you've 25:27 been, even if you've run away from God, His love will always 25:32 follow you. He'll never leave you or forsake you. 25:37 In Deuteronomy 31:6, God promises us this. 25:46 God will never give up on us His love is forever. 25:51 It can be hard for us to comprehend that kind of love, 25:56 a sacrificing eternal kind of love. A love that led to Calvary 26:01 and endured the Cross to ensure our salvation. 26:05 It's the kind of love that can sustain us through trials 26:10 give us hope, give us long- lasting peace, and give us 26:14 assurance of a better future. 26:17 If you would like to know more about the depth of God's love 26:22 and how it can change your life and bring you peace and 26:25 happiness then I'd like to recommend a free gift we have 26:28 for all our Incredible Journey viewers today. 26:33 It's the book Step's to Christ. 26:35 This short, easy-to-read book will share with you 26:40 how to find and receive God's love. 26:42 This popular book is our gift to you and is absolutely free. 26:47 I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:51 So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive 26:56 the free gift we have for you today. 26:58 Phone or text 0436.333.555 in Australia, or 020.422.2042 27:09 in New Zealand or visit our website at TiJ.tv or simply scan 27:15 the QR code on your screen and we'll send you today's 27:18 free offer totally free of charge and with no obligation. 27:22 Write to us a GPO Box 274, Sydney NSW 2001, Australia 27:29 or PO Box 76673 Manukau Auckland, 2241 New Zealand. 27:36 Don't delay, call or text us now. 27:39 Be sure to join us again next week when we will share another 27:44 of life's journey's together, until then, 27:47 let's pray to the God who cares for us and always loves us. 27:53 Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for your 27:56 unconditional love that follows us in our journey of life. 28:01 Please continue to sustain us through the challenges we face 28:06 and give us the assurance that you will never leave us 28:09 or forsake us. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen! |
Revised 2023-05-03