The collier River Burnett, however, operated by the Australian Shipping Board, was one that did escape and continued in service for many years.
Having departed from Queensland with a cargo of 7800 tons of coal, the River Burnett was attempting to pass through The Rip against an outgoing tide running about 8-9km/h. There was no pilot aboard because the captain, like many who pass through the entry channel on a regular basis, had a ‘pilot-exemption’.
Soon after 2am on the night of July 17, 1955, the ship was carried onto Corsair Rock and brought to a complete stop. The captain immediately ordered the engine to be run astern at full speed, and after about six minutes she moved clear. The engine was then put to slow ahead and the captain attempted to make his way to Port Melbourne with a large hole in the bows. A signal was sent to the international passenger liner Moreton Bay, which followed the River Burnett into the bay, and her lifeboats were swung out to assist if necessary.
The pumps were unable to keep up with the incoming flow, and with her bow sinking, the captain of the River Burnett realised that his ship would not make it to Port Melbourne. At 5.30am he found a shallow place to allow the ship’s bow to settle and the ship came to rest on the sea bottom off Mount Eliza. Ten of the crew remained with the ship to continue to operate the pumps but the other 36 were taken to Melbourne that morning by the tug Howard Smith.
Over the following days much of her cargo of coal was removed while crowds flocked to Olivers Hill and other vantage points to view the casualty. After temporary repairs, the River Burnett reached Port Melbourne on September 9, where she was unloaded, fully repaired and returned to service. She was sold out of Australian service in April 1965 and was taken to Taiwan in 1973 to be broken up.
