A starboard bow view of the passenger liner Malta (1865) mostly submerged, wrecked off the rocks in the bay on the north-east side of Kendijack Castle.

A starboard bow view of the passenger liner Malta (1865), submerged to the forecastle deck, off the rocks in the bay on the north-east side of Kendijack Castle looking towards Botallack Head. The ship's figurehead is clear of the water and the name can be seen just below the anchor. The ship is submerged from the stern to the forecastle with just the roof of the upper deck deckhouse above water. The sea is pouring over the wreck and onto the rocks in the foreground. Flotsam and jetsam can be seen off the port side where the sea is more calm. The two stone Engine Houses in the background belong to Crown Mines on the lower part of Botallack Head.

A copy negative from an original print from G14008.

The Malta was on passage from Liverpool with 40 crew and 21 passengers, and a cargo of about 2,000 tons for Falmouth to complete loading and then to Gibraltar. Having left Liverpool on 14 October the Malta struck the cliffs close to Cape Cornwall at a little after 7pm on 15 October 1889 at full speed (9 knots). The passengers were landed by about 830pm and the crew came off at about midnight [see Wreck Report for Malta, no. 3919].

Object Details

ID: P51148
Collection: Historic Photographs
Type: Sheet film negative
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Gibson & Sons of Scilly
Date made: Circa 16-17 October 1889
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Gibson's of Scilly Shipwreck Collection
Measurements: Overall: 100 mm x 126 mm