CENTURION

Statement of Significance

Physical Description
Construction Material	Wood
Rig	Ketch
Hull Details	Single deck, counter stern, carvel built, cutwater head, no galleries, wooden framed, 2 bulkheads.
Propulsion	Sail
Number of Masts	2
Length / Breadth / Depth	77.0 Feet / 25.1 Feet / 9.5 Feet
History
Builder	W. Dunn of Sydney and G. Howard of Erina.
Built Date	1907
Built Port / Country	Erina, New South Wales / Australia
Registration Number	11 of 1908
Registration Port / Country	Melbourne / Australia
Former Details of Registration	No. 2 of 1907
Details	The ketch CENTURION was built at Erina, N.S.W. in 1908 (Loney states Geelong). The vessel was engaged in a number of local Victorian industries and was employed as a pleasure boat, crayboat and timber trader between Melbourne and Apollo bay. In 1911 it was purchased by McCrae for use in the lime trade between the kilns at Walkerville and Bell Point to Melbourne. In June 1913 the ketch left Walkerville with a cargo of lime for Melbourne. When approaching Cape Paterson its cargo caught fire and the master decided to sail the vessel into the Eastern Entrance of Western Port and beach the ketch. Despite the attempts of the crew, the vessel continued to burn and they were forced to abandon ship. The Centurion was beached between Cape Woolamai and San Remo. The crew were rescued and the vessel burnt to the waterline. The remains could still be seen until removed in 1979.
Voyage Details
Date Lost	07/1913
Voyage	from Walkerville to Melbourne
Cargo	Lime
Owner	1908: Leonard Martin, Grazier, Apollo Bay
Cause of Loss	Destroyed by fire when cargo ignited. Driven ashore.
Further Details
Number of Passengers	0
Number of Crew Members	0