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History of Rockingham Western Australia

The Ship Rockingham

The Ship Rockingham was introduced into western Australian history by the ill-fated colonisation scheme of Thomas Peel.

Three Ships were acquired by Thomas Peel to bring settlers to Western Australia. These were the Gilmore, Hooghly and Rockingham.

The Rockingham was the last to arrive- off Garden Island in heavy weather on May 13th 1830. Due to the conditions ,a Naval Officer from Cockburn went out to pilot her safe anchorage off Clarence the following morning. The weather deteriorated further and the single men swam to the mainland. The ship drifted and ran aground, but all passengers were rescued by the single men and managed to make it to shore.

The ship remained stranded on the beach for two 2 months. The Rockingham was refloated and taken to Garden Island for repairs, where much damage was found. After the repairs she was again ready for sea and in October 1830, she prepared to sail to Batavia.

When the ship struck ocean swells past Rottnest Island, she again sprang a leak and had to return.Upon inspection it was found she could no longer be repaired. A further survey condemned her and she was laid up.

The Rockingham went up for auction and bid of 250 pounds was secured. Failure to repair the ship and the constant effort of pumping her out made the job of refitting her impossible. With the pumps unmaned, the Rockingham settled on the bottom in shallow water. The owner sold most of the timber for building materials and then abandoned the ship.

In March 1833 only the ribs of the ship could be seen protruding above the water and eventually they disappeared. The remains of the Rockingham have not been positively identified and presumably must be buried somewhere in the Careening Bay.

By August 1830 a settlement several kilometres south of Clarence became known as Rockingham Town, taking its name from the ship that brought many to the colony

Thomas Peel

The first settlers were brought to Rockingham by Thomas Peel, if those first visitors were to visit Rockingham today they would be amazed to see how much the community as grown.

A significant factor for the new colony and in later years for the Rockingham area was the arrival of Thomas peel in the Gilmore with 169 passengers on December 14th, 1829. By missing the November 1st deadline, Peel forfeited his preferential allocation. Stirling later granted Peel 250,000 acres from Woodman Point to Mandurah, which forms a major part of the Rockingham district as it is at present. Peel's grant did not include what later became the Rockingham townsite. Two more ships, the Hooghley and the Rockingham arrived early the following year with the balance of Peel's 400 prospective setters. Near Woodman Point the town of Clarence was surveyed and here the new arrivals attempted to become established. In August 1830. poor leadership by Peel finally resulted in disillusioned residents sending a petition to Stirling complaining about their conditions in general and Peel in particlar. Most of the new colonists dispersed throughout the colony: Clarence never eventuated as a town and little remained, as testimony to Peel's grandiose scheme. For Thomas Peel, his legacy was 250,000 acres of dubioud land and mass of accumulated debts.

Several attempts were made on Peel's recommendation to develop a town site and a port to be called Liverpool ( now Safety Bay ) and this was surveyed by Alffed Hillman in 1838, to no avail. Rockingham was later surveyed as a town site in 1847, but the roads remained only on paper.

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