PS Young Australian

PS Young Australian

Wreck of the PS Young Australian in the Roper River, April 1889.
History
South Australia
Name	Young Australian
Operator	Charles Todd
Builder	Money Wigram & Sons
Commissioned	12 October 1853
Stricken	February 1873
Fate	Sunk, 30 December 1872
General characteristics
Type	Paddle steamer
Tonnage	92.59 GRT
Length	28.23 m (92.6 ft)
Beam	4.87 m (16 ft)
Draught	2.5 m (8 ft)
Sail plan	Schooner
Complement	7 crew

PS Young Australian was a paddle steamer that was lost on the Roper River in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia.^[1]

In 1854, Young Australian was driven ashore at Cape Northumberland in South Australia.^[2] It serviced the Roper River in the Northern Territory for twenty years before sinking in 1872 while bringing supplies for the overland telegraph work crews at Roper Bar.^[3] Young Australian sunk upstream from the settlement at Ngukurr,^[4][5] and can still be seen in the river on the edge of the Limmen National Park.^{[citation needed]}

In 1980, the wreck site was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.^[6]

Young Australian received an Engineering Heritage Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.^[1]

References

1. "Young Australian, steam ship, built 1853, wrecked 1872-". Engineers Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
2. "Ship News". The Times. No. 21959. London. 26 January 1855. col D, p. 10.
3. "Roper Bar". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004.
4. "The wreck of the paddle-steamer 'Young Australia' in the Roper River" – via collections.slsa.sa.gov.au.
5. Ashford, Stephen Allan (2004). Endurance, courage and shipwreck in the Roper River 1871-1872. Darwin: N.T. Office of Environment and Heritage.
6. "Young Australian Shipwreck, Ngukurr,(sic) NT, Australia - listing on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate (Place ID 101)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 21 October 1980. Retrieved 7 April 2020.