In 1797, the merchant ship Sydney Cove was taking water. Despite furious bailing, Captain Hamilton knew his ship was doomed. He beached it on the north-east coast of Tasmania.
The optimistically named Sydney Cove was loaded with cargo for sale in the fledgling colony. It included crockery, chickens and even a horse, but mostly it carried alcohol that would be traded by John Macarthur and the Rum Corps.