Archaeological remains associated with the loss of this vessel are not confirmed as present at this location, but may possibly be in the vicinity (see NPRN 516024).

Event and Historical Information:
The DUMFRIESSHIRE was a steel-hulled barque built by Russell & Company, Port Glasgow, in 1890. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 2622gt, 2482nt; 313ft 6in long x 42ft 1in breadth x 24ft 4in depth; 4 masts, 1deck, 1 bulkhead, boat deck 56ft, and forecastle 22ft; official number 97594. The ship was launched in December 1889 and delivered to the Shire Line of Thomas Law & Co, Hope Street, Glasgow, in January 1890. Captain W C Mc Gibbon was given command.
The firm of Thomas Law & Co were owners and managers of a fleet of some thirty vessels. At the time which the DUMFRIESSHIRE entered service, the most important part of the firm's business was regular monthly despatch (carrying passengers) from Glasgow direct to Brisbane, Queensland, also Freemantle, Western Australia, and the other parts of the colonies. The firm were also agents in Glasgow for the Queensland Government. The founder, Thomas Law, had died in 1887, but the firm continued under William and James Law.
The majority of the ship's movements and small incidents in its service life are reported in Australian newspapers. The ship's first voyage in the March 1890 was from Antwerp to San Francisco and took 158 days. The ship returned from San Francisco to Hull in 159 days. The vessel loaded with coal at Barry in July/August 1892 and set sail for Algoa Bay, South Africa, on 16 August. It was reported overdue on its voyage to San Francisco in 1893, however a reassuring article was published in the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate on 21 June 1893, noting its arrival on 11 May 1893. The master is quoted 'Since I was last in San Francisco, I have been in India, China, England, Africa, South America, and Australia. I have stopped at all kinds of little out-of-the-way places, but the only one that I ever hear "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" either whistled or sung at was Pitcairn. While we lay there the sailors taught the children, and before we sailed you could hear the men, women, and children at it morning, noon, and night."
The vessel was caught up in the New South Wales coal strike of 1896. The ship hosted meetings for the sea captains who had arrived to load coal at Newcastle, New South Wales, but had instead found themselves drawn into the dispute between the miners and mine owners (July 1896). In August of the same year, the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' reported that many of the ships in the Newcastle harbour had been decorated to celebrate the wedding of the ship's Captain M'Gibbon to Miss Grace Paton. The couple honeymooned on the ship's subsequent voyage to San Francisco.

In December 1899, a fairly typical voyage was disturbed by a crew tragedy and described in The Argus (Melbourne) - 'The four-masted barque Dumfriesshire, 2481 tons, arrived in the bay yesterday afternoon, from New York. Captain W. M'Gibbon, in charge of the vessel, reported that she left port on September 12... On November 16, the chief officer, Mr. Thomas T. Wilkie, died of peritonitis and was buried at sea. The deceased, who was about 40 years of age, was a native of Kirkcaldy, Scotland, and married. The Dumfriesshire is one of the finest sailing vessels that has entered the port. She was built 10 years ago at Port Glasgow, for T Law, Glasgow, The accommodation for the crew is very fine, consisting of large house amidships, filling the deck from side to side, and she is fitted with the latest labour-saving appliances?.'
Although much of the ship's early life appears to have been in the coal trade, the ship carried general cargos, nitrate, and, it its time, one of the largest consignments of timber from Portland, Oregon, to Melbourne (August 1904). Also a record wheat cargo (34,318 bags) from Melbourne to Callac in April 1906.

The DUMFRIESSHIRE's ocean voyaging continued until 28 June 1915. The ship was then under the command of Captain R. W. Furneaxix, and had left San Francisco on the 22nd January for Falmouth for orders with a cargo of wheat/barley. The orders had sent the ship on to Dublin. When the torpedo exploded, survivors' accounts describe how the deck was blown into the air. The lifeboats had already been swung out and so the crew, including three Swedes, were able to make their escape before the vessel sank. The periscope of a German submarine was seen by patrol boats which rushed to the scene, some 25 miles southwest of the Smalls. The survivors were subsequently landed at Milford Haven by the steam trawler WEYMOUTH. The U-boat responsible was U-24, under the command of Kptlt Rudolf Schneider. The submarine undertook 7 wartime patrols and sank 34 ships and the battleship HMS FORMIDABLE on 1 January 1915 off Lyme Regis. It damaged 3 other vessels and took another as a prize. The submarine was surrendered on 22 November 1918 and broken up at Swansea in 1922.

Sources include:

The Advertiser (Adelaide, South Australia), Wednesday 18 April 1906, p.7
The Argus (Melbourne), Friday 29 December 1899, p.4
Barry Docks News, 22 July 1892
Barry Docks News, 19 August 1892
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, p.102
Great War at Sea: DUMFRIESSHIRE torpedoed 28 June 1915, People's Collection Wales
HMSO, 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, p.8
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 April - 30 June 1915, p.12 (i)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1915- 30 June 1916, number 193 in D
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW), Thursday 6 August 1896, p.5
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW), Friday 24 August 1905, p.5
The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 9 July 1896, p.5
Tweed Daily (Murwillumbah, NSW), Tuesday 1 July 1915, p.3
U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea

Note: The collections of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, contain a mid section plan and sail plan for the vessel (MASA0090 and MSA0090).

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, June 2019.

This record was enhanced in 2020 with funding from Lloyd's Register Foundation as part of the project ‘Making the Link: Lloyd's Register and the National Monuments Record of Wales’. Visit Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage and Education Centre for more resources.