"S. S. Alert", Patrick Piggott & George BrooksPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates Patrick Piggott and George Brooks, who drowned rescuing Chinese people from a flood, and Captain Matheson and officers and crew who died in the wreck of the steamer S. S. Alert. Both incidents happened in 1893.
The S. S. Alert was put to work moving cargo and passengers between Gippsland and Melbourne, a trip that saw it flirt regularly with the unforgiving strait between Victoria and Tasmania. It was this stretch that claimed the S. S. Alert on the night of December 28, 1893.
Returning from Bairnsdale, the crew encountered a heavy south-easterly that battered the ship, leaving it stricken off Cape Schanck. Fifteen people went down with the ship that night. Only one person, the ship's cook, Robert Ponting, survived, washed ashore near Sorrento Beach - some 15 kilometres away - after clinging to a cabin door for more than 16 hours.
Location
| Address: | 22 Service Street, East Gippsland Shire Library, Bairnsdale, 3875 |
|---|---|
| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -37.825501 Long: 147.628737 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Maritime |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 28-December-1893 |
| Approx. Event Start Date: | |
| Actual Event End Date: | 28-December-1893 |
| Approx. Event End Date: |
Dedication
In Memoriam
Patrick Piggott
Aged 35 years
George Brooks
Aged 32 years
Who were drowned while engaged in an heroic attempt to rescue Chinese from the flood in the Mitchell River at Springvale near Bairnsdale
30th Dec 1893
In Memoriam
Captain Matheson and Officers and crew of the S. S. Alert who lost their lives by the floundering of that vessel of Cape Schanck on the 28th Dec 1893.
