Narrative of the Shipwreck of the "Admella," Inter-Colonial Steamer, on the Southern Coast of Australia:drawn up from authentic statements furnished by the rescuers and survivors..

Only edition: the harrowing tale of the wreck of the steamship Admella, lost on the South Australian coast, published by a committee appointed to collect funds and care for the survivors: it offers a detailed account of events as they unfolded, interspersed with first-hand testimonies of some of the survivors and their rescuers.

'In terms of human suffering, the wreck of the steamship Admella is ranked by historians as one of the worst in human history' writes Jack Loney in his sweeping account of the appalling disaster which claimed the life of 89 of the 113 passengers and crew. Before dawn on the 6 August 1859, the ship ran aground on a reef near Cape Northumberland on the South Australian coast, where it violently disintegrated into three sections, leaving the vast majority of the 19 women and 14 children aboard stranded in the bow section with only a handful of crew and male passengers. A single female passenger survived the tragedy.

A remarkable series of rescue attempts unfolded as locals, fishermen and sailors from nearby vessels risked all to save the survivors whose numbers diminished daily from cold and exposure. It is remarkable testament to the grim determination of the rescuers that 24 souls were saved in this appalling disaster.