Josiah
Knickerson Knowles
(1830-1896)
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In
1830 Josiah Knowles was born in this house and - as
an adult - went on to command the great clipper ship
Wild Wave (see ship's portrait here).
Already
an acclaimed and respected Captain at an early age,
he had yet to experience the ultimate disaster - the
horror of a shipwreck at sea.
But
that nightmare was fast approaching, as the Wild Wave
made its way through the South Pacific thousands of
miles form any of the main shipping lanes. And it became
a certainty as the lookout suddenly cried the dreadful
words: ''reef ahead.''
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Nothing
could be done, as the massive hull of the ship collapsed under
the impact, and the masts and spars rained down like kindling
wood. Finally, in a matter of hours, the Wild Wave turned
over, then slipped silently out of sight.
Josiah and the crew were horrified, because
the island beyond the roof was small, desolate, and uninhabited
by carnivorous land crabs that continually attacked them at
night.
Exhausted, hungry and terrified, the crew
pleaded with the captain for an answer. Josiah's answer: to
build asmall nutshell of a boat form the wreckage that washed
ashore, and sail it to Australia three thousand miles away.
In a horrific journey, where the tiny boat
corkscrewed wildly over thousands of miles of ocean, Josiah
did get the help he needed, and did arrange for the rescue
of his crew.
It was one of the greatest survival stories
in Maritime history, and Josiah Knowles soon became one of
the living legends of his time.
(Please see Inn guidebook for full story).
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