- £2250.00
“WATER WITCH” 1854. The 134 ton schooner Water Witch left Melbourne on 15th September for Mauritius, but was caught in a gale in the Bass Strait. The vessel had 26 crew and passengers on board. The Water Witch was eventually driven ashore, on King Island's western coast. All onboard reached the shore where they later discovered survivors of the Brahmin, a wooden three mast ship that had struck a reef and was wrecked three kilometres south of Whistler Point, on the west coast of King Island, that had had departed London on 5 February 1854, with 42 passengers and crew. The survivors of the Water Witch and Brahmin, together with the former's cargo of specie, were brought to Melbourne on 25 October. This letter was returned to Melbourne and remailed on 26th January 1855. A red crayon 1/- ship rate and red m/s “Detained for 2/- postage” are on the front of the letter which arrived in Mauritius on March 14th. A rare item ,only three covers are recorded from this wreck, of which this is the finest. Ex Woolfe and Gwynn.
