The loss of the Brier Holme

The Brier Holme set sail from London on 21 July 1904 with a crew of 18 under the command of Captain John H. Rich of Maryport who then lived in Church Street, Maryport, having previously lived at 6 North Street. Bound for Tasmanian ports, the ship’s passage had been slowed by adverse winds until she rounded the Cape of Good Hope, after which she made good progress. When 107 days out from London, off Western Tasmania the ship ran into heavy weather with mountainous seas, the ship hove to, but just before midnight on 5 November 1904 the Brier Holme was driven onto the rocks at Elliott’s Cove. As soon as the vessel struck, the dynamite, which formed part of her cargo, exploded and it was though that the captain and some of the crew were killed immediately. The rest climbed onto the rigging because the lifeboats had been carried away, but when the ship broke up and the masts went, they all drowned, except one, Oscar Larsen. Oscar Larsen was a Norwegian seaman and the sole survivor. He lived on supplies washed ashore from the wreck on an uninhabited part of the island until he was rescued in February 1905.