Tragedy of "The Guiding Star"
By Mick Dowling

The year was 1855 the passenger ship "The Guiding Star" left a cold Liverpool, England on the 9th January 1955.

The destination was Australia, the passengers included emigrants from Ireland hopeful for a new start in a new world.

 

The passengers included whole families including the Doolings from Ballylooby in County Tipperary:

John Dooling aged 78 years and his wife Bridget Glasseen were traveling with three of their five children.  Michael Dooling aged 29 years and his brothers Edmund aged 22 years and James Dooling aged 15 years.  They were also accompanied by their cousin Judith Ahern (daughter of their aunt Alice Dooling).   All lost at sea.

click to enlarge

 

guidingstar.jpg (24991 bytes)
"The Age" 
September 8th, 1855 

The ship was last spoken off the Brazilian coast at lat. 16S, lon. 34W.  The ship was sighted at about lat. 44S, lon. 25W. in about April 1855 sailing into the 60 mile wide bay of a horseshoe shaped iceberg, in which it must have become entrapped and eventually sunk.

There is a monument to the tragedy in Lancefield, Victoria, Australia which erroneously states the date of the sinking as 1854.  Another monument at Castlegrace, Tipperary states the sinking as 1842, also in error.

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Reproduced here with the kind permission of Mick Dowling (01 October 2000).
Story Copyright © 2000 Mick Dowling.  All rights reserved.