Built as a three-masted wooden clipper vessel by the yard of Messers Alexander Hall & Sons, Aberdeen, Scotland for James Baines (Black Ball Line).
05 April 1855 launched and christened by Mr James Layard MP, the lord Rector of the Marischal College, she was named after Captain Charles F Schomberg RN who was at that time the Chief Immigration Officer at Liverpool.
Tonnage 2.400 gross, dim. 288 x 45 x 292ft (87.78 x 13.71 x 8.90m.)
Full rigged ship. Reported that she could carry 16.000 square yards of sails.
Her passenger accommodation was lavishly decorated.
Carried water tanks for 350 tons of fresh water.
Building cost £43.103
25 July 1855 she sailed from Aberdeen under tow, with on board 1500 tons of ballast, just outside the harbour entrance she grounded due to her draught, during the next high tide she was refloated after discharging of 150 tons of ballast and with the help of tugs, without any damage.
Ten days later she arrived in Liverpool.
06 October 1855 she sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne, Australia, under command of Capt. James Nicol (“Bully”) Forbes.
She carried 430 passengers and a cargo mostly of railway tracks for the Geelong Railway, with a weight of around 3.000 tons.
Her voyage was not fast, she suffered many windless days.
After an 80 day passage the Australian coast was sighted near Cape Bridgewater at 1 p.m. on Christmas Day 1855.
The ship stood off the land, the wind was blowing from the wrong quarter, the next day around noon Moonlight Head was sighted.
27 December at 6 p.m. she was about four miles off land at 10.30 p.m. she was again beating in to towards Moonlight Head, then the wind dropped down, and the ship did not more listen to her rudder, and a strong westward current of 3-4 miles carried her in towards the breakers, almost passed the line of breakers she went aground on a sandpit to the east of the reef, near Curdie’s Inlet, about 35 miles west of Cape Otaway
Her bow heading seawards, the sails were kept on for about an hour in the hope that a light breeze would refloat her, but she did not move an inch.
The starboard anchor was let go and the sail taken in. Distress signal were given, which were seen by the steamer QUEEN under command of Captain Doran, the next morning.
Passenger were transferred to the QUEEN and landed safely at Portland.
About 130 persons from the ship camped opposite the SCHOMBERG on the beach.
06 January 1856 very little remained of her, most of the passenger luggage was taken off before she was going to pieces, timbers and cargo were scattered for miles along the beach.
12 January her remains were sold for £447 9s and a portion of the cargo was bought by a Warrnambool syndicate for £65. The QUEEN received £ 150 from the Black Ball Line to bring most of the passengers to Melbourne.
To recover more of the cargo failed, in 1864 two men lost their lives when the boat they were in to recover cargo was swamped by a huge wave.
Although a trial was held, Captain Forbes and his officers were acquitted on the grounds that the strong westward current was not known to him before, and not recorded on the charts and books he had.
After his return in Liverpool he got command of the HASTINGS of the Black Ball Line. He wandered around for a while until 1857, before he was given back the command of the MARCO POLO.
14 June 1874 at the age of 52 Captain Forbes died, and he was buried at Liverpool’s Smithdown Road cemetery.
Ghana 1999 500/1000ch sg ?, scott?
Source: The Liverpool Windjammers by John Richardson. Australian Shipwrecks Volume 2 by Jack Loney. The Passage Makers by Michael K. Stammers.