CHARLES EATON

Charles Eaton. Barque, 313 tons. Reg. London. Captain J.G. Moore.  On board was Captain William D'Oyley of the Bengal Artillery and his family. From Sydney to India, struck the Great Detached Reef, approximately 40 miles east of the Sir Charles Hardy Islands, on the outer Barrier Reef on 15 August 1834. Six of the crew stole the boats and set out for Timor which they reached about two months later. Those abandoned at the wreck made two rafts, then set out for the mainland. After days and nights of misery without food and water, they were captured by Aborigines who murdered all except two young men, John Ireland and William Sexton, and the two young sons of the army captain. They lived with their captors for some months, being eventually exchanged at Murray Island to a native for a bunch of bananas. Their new owner treated them kindly and months later, when the schooner Isabella was making a search for the lost ship, only Ireland and four-year-old William D’Oyley had survived. They were handed over to the Captain Charles Morgan Lewis of the Isabella, who returned them to Sydney. The ship also carried back skulls believed to be those of the murdered passengers and crew. Captain Lewis took leave of absence to take the young D’Oyley back to England to be placed in care of relatives.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Charles_Hardy_Islands  Downloaded 12 May 2012

Inscription on Memorial reads: Within this tomb were interred, on XVII November MDCCCXXXVI, Discovered, after the most diligent research, in the island of Aureed, in Torres Straits, by Mr. C.M. Lewis, Commander of H.M. Colonial Schooner “Isabella”, and by satisfactory evidence identified as the mortal remains of certainof the officers, crew and passengers of the Bark “Charles Eaton”, who, after, escaping from the total wreck of that vessel on XV August, MDCCCXXXIV, were savagely massacred by the natives of the islands on which they landed. His Excellency Sir Richard Bourke, K.C.B. Governor in Chief of this Colony, by whose command the expedition to ascertain the fate of those unhappy persons was undertaken caused the last offices of pity to be discharged. Towards them, by directing the internment of their remains with the rights of Christian burial and the erecting of this Monument to record the catastrophe by which they perished. “And they told David, saying that the men of Jabesh-Cilead were they that buried Saul; and David sent messengers to the men Jabesh-Cilead, and said unto them, blessed be ye of the Lord, that ye have shown this kindness.” – Psalm (unreadable).

Reference: Transcribed from a photograph taken by Marjorie Earl at Pioneer Memorial Park Cemetery (Bunnerong Cemetery) in 2003 – in her private collection.

(c) Marjorie Earl photograph.

BULLIO Alphonse (Alfonse)

BITTEN BY SHARK.
ISLAND BOY INJURED.  LONG TRIP TO CAIRNS.

Two young Torres Strait islanders had to swim madly for their dinghy when , they were pursued by a shark while diving for trochus shell at Ota Reef on the Barrier Reef, opposite Hinchinbrook Channel, on Thursday. One of them, Nelam Kris, aged 17, was bitten on the right leg as he was climbing into the boat, and his calf and foot were terribly gashed. He was brought to Cairns, arriving, at 9 o'clock last night

The youth was admitted to the Cairns District Hospital, but his condition, is not serious.

CAUGHT BY LEG.

Nelam and Alphonse Bullio, of the lugger Frankton, owned by the Wyberi Pearling Co., of Thursday Island, were diving, and when Nelam was coming to the surface he noticed a big shark approaching. Nelam called to his companion, and they swam with all speed towards the dinghy. Alphonse got into it, but Nelam had his hands on the side and was just pulling himself aboard,when the shark caught his right leg. Before the shark could attack again Alphonse had pulled the youth into the dinghy. Blood was streaming from two ugly wounds, but with stoical calmness Nelam helped to signal the other dinghies. A towel was wrapped round the lower leg. The lugger came over and the two divers were transferred to it. The other dinghies were scattered over the reef and had to be summoned.

ON TO CAIRNS.

The lugger cleared the reef at dark and headed for Innisfail. Captain R. Wada considered the bar to the Johnstone River too dangerous to cross owing to the unsuitability of the tide. It was, therefore, decided to make for Cairns.

During all this time not a whimper came from the injured boy, who, however, fainted once during the voyage.

When Cairns was reached the boy was taken by ambulance to the hospital. This is his second trip away from his home at St Paul Island. The other divers aboard the lugger come from the same place. The lugger, which had about six tons of shell aboard, will stay in Cairns a few days and then return to its work.
Reference: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/41826588?searchTerm=Alphonse Bullio&searchLimits=  Downloaded 11 May 2012

Story on Alphonse (Alfonse) as told by his granddaughter, Debra Bullio:

My grandad, Alfonse Bullio, sailed down from Torres Strait and got caught up in a cyclone. He saved the lives of the Pitt family and a caucasian boy, which would have been back in the 1950’s. He threw himself across the deck (a few floorboards came loose) to save the Pitt family from drowning. When the boat did go down, he rescued the two surviving Pitt girls and swam back and rescued the causcasian boy. A few years before my grandad died, the boy he rescued, now a man, came to visit him. The funny thing was that even though they hadn’t seen each other since the day of the rescue, my grandad knew exactly who he was.

Compiler’s Note: This story has been added as oral history to this project. I am satisfied that if Alphonse had been European, the story would have made the national papers.

Reference:  Information from Debra Bullio, posted 10 May 2012 on Facebook Group page: You know you grew up in Cairns when …

APRILOVIC Fred

In 1959, Fred Aprilovic led the first expedition to dive The Crater in Mt Hypipamee National Park, near Atherton. This is a volcanic diatreme, with a sheer-walled shaft varying from 50 to 80m across, filled with water to a level 60m below the surface. The expedition crew consisted of: Fred Aprilovic (Expedition leader / Diver) Johnny Sesto (Diver) Ian Croll (Photographer / Diver) John Sharp (Photographer / Diver) Alan Reason (Cairns Post reporter / Diver) Shirley Reason (Diver) Noel Bonnell (Diver) Keith Ikin (PMG technician / Diver) Robert King (PMG technician / Diver). Fred ‘explored the Crater walls to a maximum depth of 12 metres… (and) circumnavigate the entire Crater and discovered shoals of small fish as well as a few freshwater turtles, which no one else had reported seeing. Compiler’s note: Fred was also a member of the Expedition which found Cook’s cannon. – See entry for Endeavour’s Relics. Reference/s: http://www.wetmules.com/projects/hypipamee-2011-expedition/wednesday16thapril Downloaded 10 May 2012 https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx3ZXRtdWxlc3xneDo1NTBiNDZlMzI4NTJkZDY0&pli=1 Downloaded 10 May 2012