The coast off Newcastle is littered with the remains of shipwrecks, many of which were doomed by the notorious Oyster Bank.

Our January postcard for #PostcardPatrons is this stunning illustration of the Wreck of the Coaling Brig Victor, published in the Illustrated Sydney News in 1866.

Fortunately, this terrible event didn’t end with the loss of those on board – thanks to a brave mariner on board a nearby ship who tied a rope around his waist and swam into the heavy sea to start a rescue.

So who was this mystery hero, and are the rumours true that he was a member of a Swedish noble family?

Thank you for your ongoing support of Lost Newcastle. Your subscription helps me to continue to work on my passion project – to share and grow stories from generations of Novocastrian families and to also support the valuable work of the University of Newcastle Special Collections via the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund.

The fund helps to pay for the enormous amount of work required to digitise precious local history archives that are made available to us all.

Here’s to more great Lost Newcastle stories through 2023!

Carol