The Shipwreck: The True Story of the Dunbar - Larry Writer

In 'The Shipwreck: The True Story of the Dunbar', author Larry Writer chronicles the tragedy when, in a ferocious storm at midnight on 20 August 1857, Dunbar, a magnificent sailing clipper, collided with the cliffs of outer South Head and 121 of the 122 passengers and crew perished.
Larry reveals why the ship crashed, who was to blame, and follows the personal stories of its crew, the passengers and the sole survivor, James Johnson, whose miracle rescue defies belief. The effect on the fledgling colony is movingly told. More than a third of Sydney’s 57,000 population lined the streets as the funeral procession of the victims made its sad way at dusk from Circular Quay to Camperdown Cemetery.
The aftermath to the shipwreck saw enormous and desperately needed changes to Port Jackson navigation and maritime safety, including the building of Hornby lighthouse that still stands overlooking the Heads, upgrading of the marine pilot service, and the construction of a telegraph line from South Head to the city.
Larry Writer is a Sydney-based author. As well as The Shipwreck, Larry’s books include Razor, the saga of Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine and the razor gangs of Sydney in the 1920s and 1930s, which was a national bestseller, won the Ned Kelly Award for best Australian True Crime book of 2002, and was the basis of the top-rating 2011 Underbelly Razor series. Also, 2011’s Bumper, a biography of the legendary Sydney policeman Frank ‘Bumper’ Farrell, 2014’s Dangerous Games: Australia at the 1936 Nazi Olympics and 2016’s Pitched Battle, a history of the anti-apartheid demonstrations that disrupted the 1971 Springbok rugby tour of Australia. Larry’s Never Before, Never Again about the 11-year premiership reign of the St George rugby league team from 1956-66 was judged the sports book of the year by the Sydney Morning Herald. His biography of Olympian and World War I hero Cecil Healy was awarded the NIB Military History Prize in 2019. He has also collaborated on their best-selling memoirs with rock star Chrissy Amphlett and tennis champions Rod Laver, John Newcombe and Margaret Court.