Most Newfoundlanders, when they are asked to name a famous shipwreck that happened off our coast, think of things like the sinking of the Titanic or the wreck of the USS Truxtun and USS Pollux.
Sunday marked the 76th anniversary of the sinking of the Truxtun and Pollux. They both ran aground on Feb. 18, 1942 near St. Lawrence in what was considered one of worst naval disasters in American history, though the overwhelming help given by Newfoundlanders at the scene is warmly remembered.
But almost a century earlier, in 1860, a steamship famed for helping Newfoundlanders was lost in a disaster that’s now fading from memory.
In Carmel Vivier’s new book “Shipwrecks Off the East Coast: Harrowing Tales of Rescue and Disaster,” released last fall, the story of the SS Hungarian is one that stands out.
The Hungarian was a steamship almost 300 feet long and weighing 2,190 tons. It was commissioned for the Allan Line for use as a mail and passenger ship and was built in Scotland in 1859. The steamer would have a short life, but the crew and its captain, Thomas Jones, created quite a reputation for themselves.
During the Hungarian’s first winter run, in November 1859, it encountered the doomed British schooner, Jean Martin, which had been blown off course by strong gales and high seas off the Grand Banks.
Seven sailors from the Hungarian quickly headed to the schooner in a lifeboat.
Upon arriving, they realized the Jean Martin was sinking. There were not only women and children onboard, but the rescued crew of another schooner wrecked off Labrador.
The Hungarian was able to save everyone just as the ship sank — 20 men and 23 women and children.
The passengers were proud of their captain and crew, presenting them with two gold sovereigns each.
The next morning the ship arrived in St. John’s harbour to a warm welcome, with a party to honour the crew’s heroism. Arrangements were even made to have a London jeweller create silver cups, which were presented to the crew on behalf of the Newfoundland government.
A year later, while making the same winter trip, the Hungarian experienced disaster. Leaving Liverpool for Portland, the Hungarian sank 150 miles off Cape Race. The New York Times described the Feb. 20 sinking as “a total wreck with all crew and passengers lost.”
It was reported that the steamer went off course and became stranded on the ledges of Cape Sable, N.S. No other boat was close enough to help. The wrecked ship began to sink and the survivors who clung on were visible from shore, but rescue was impossible due to dangerous conditions that continued for a week.
Capt. Jones perished along with the crew and passengers — 205 in all.
Newspapers reported for months about the disaster, from as far away as Australia. Many were touched by the tragic loss.
The mood was best summed up in the March 14 edition of the Canadian News and British American Intelligencer, which observed the tragedy had thrown “a sense of gloom over the whole of British America.”
