George Roper (ship)

George Roper was a four-masted barque that launched from Liverpool, England, on 10 February 1883, and, reaching Australia on its maiden voyage, got caught on the reef at Point Lonsdale on 4 July 1883 while being towed into Port Melbourne. It sat there for a little under two months before breaking up and sinking on 26 August.

Design and construction
The four-masted barque George Roper was built of iron in Liverpool by W. H. Potter and Son for local shipowners W. T. Dickson and Son, specifically for service between England and Australia. Its registered tonnages were 2,104 gross and 2,033 net, and dimensions were length 301.7 ft, beam 39.1 ft, and depth 23.6 ft.

When launched into the River Mersey on 10 February 1883, the ship, running free, was struck by the iron cargo steamer Bentinck, outward from Garston for Belfast, loaded with coal, and narrowly missed the larger steamer Merchant. Considerable repairs to George Roper were required as well as the usual outfitting before delivery to its owners. In subsequent litigation, the shipbuilder was held entirely to blame for failing to take the usual precautions before launching into the fairway by placing a well-flagged tug where it could be clearly seen and could warn oncoming vessels, as well as checking that the river was clear before commencing the launching.

On completion the ship was registered at Liverpool as George Roper, and allocated Official Number 87813 and signal letters HKLR as identifiers.

Maiden voyage and loss
The ship left Liverpool for Port Melbourne on its maiden voyage on 11 April 1883, on Gracie, Beazley and Company's "Australasian Line". It was carrying 3842 tons of cargo, including 1,400 tons worth of railway track for the Victorian Government (valued at £20,000) as well as liquor, chemicals, drapery, and 30 tons of dynamite, for a total value of £50,000. While coming in to Port Melbourne on 4 July, it encountered headwinds at Bass Strait so the steam tug Williams under the command of Pilot Gifford (or possibly Gafford) began to tow the George Roper into port. However, the sudden appearance of heavy fog caused the tug to drift too far west, and it hit the reef at Point Lonsdale. While the Williams was able to free itself, the George Roper also hit the reef, and became stuck. After discovering the ship was taking on water, the captain, John Ward, and his 31 crew were transferred to another ship (the Albatross) and brought to safety at Queenscliff.

It was initially believed that the ship could be refloated at high tide, but this proved impossible. The underwriters sold the salvage rights to a Melbourne syndicate, who recovered much of the cargo before selling the remaining salvage to a Geelong syndicate. During the salvage, on 8 July, the tugboat Blackboy also sank after ropes got tangled around its propeller and it hit the reef before navigation could be restored. All crew were rescued without harm. The George Roper finally broke up and sank on 26 August.

In the investigation of the accident, Pilot Gifford (or Gafford) of the Williams was accused of negligence for not bringing the George Roper back to safer water when the fog came in, and his licence was suspended for two years.

Remaining wreck
The shipwreck is in 4-5 meters (15 ft.) of water and is accessible to recreational divers, with parts of it remaining clearly identifiable. Artefacts were recovered from the wreck in the 1970s and 1980s, some of which are held by the government of Victoria.

Despite its short career, a painting of the George Roper by Joseph Witham exists and is in the collections of the (British) National Maritime Museum.