"James Service"Print Page 
The anchor from the wreck of the James Service was placed in the cemetery to commemorate those who died in the shipwreck in 1878. The anchor raised in 1962 has been placed near the grave of some of the victims in the cemetery at Christ’s Church in Mandurah, together with a spider band from the mizen mast.
In July 1878, when James Service departed Penang, ten passengers, all members of a theatrical group bound for Melbourne, and a crew of ten including the captain, were aboard. The cargo consisted of 3 000 cases of castor oil, 1000 bales of sack bags and 600 bales of jute. The vessel headed southward from Penang to round Cape Leeuwin, a course that should have taken it several hundred miles off the Western Australian coast.
As there were no survivors of the wrecking which occurred on the 23rd July 1878 , the events that led to James Service being broken in two on the Murray Reef can only be surmised from circumstantial evidence.
Location
| Address: | Pinjarra Road & Scholl Street, Christ Church, Mandurah, 6210 |
|---|---|
| State: | WA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -32.534666 Long: 115.721222 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Maritime |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 23-July-1878 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 23-July-1878 |
Dedication
In memory of the crew and passengers of the barque "James Service"
Wrecked off Mandurah
July 1878
Placed here by the descendants of Captain David Foreman
Anchor of 441 ton barque
James Service
Wrecked Murray Reef off Mandurah July 23 1878 with loss of all lives
This plaque by Mandurah Historical Society (Inc)
1978
