AHOY there! Let's keep everything shipshape this week.
Who would believe one shipbuilding dynasty could be so influential. I'm talking about the Piper family shipbuilders, who left their mark from the Central Coast to the north coast. A William Piper is even listed as owning a large slab of land at Sydney's Rose Bay near Point Piper on a 1792-1892 map of landholders
Yet their tale is largely unknown to the public today. And that's despite family members creating industries from Gosford to Forster.
To prove the point, any visitor to the Forster-Tuncurry area is unconsciously reminded of the family connection. For Wallis Lake has Pipers Bay, Pipers Creek, Pipers Bay Drive and Pipers Lane named after the family.
Travelling now a little south and up from Tea Gardens, there's a second Pipers Creek, this time on the Myall River going up to the Bombah Broadwater.
The industrious shipwrights finally even built a famous luxury ocean-going yacht called Estrellita (or Little Star) at Raymond Terrace in 1948. This reportedly ended up owned by one of the legendary trio of comedians, the Marx Brothers, in the US.
After 120 years, it was the last major vessel built by the Pipers and was described as the being largest pleasure yacht in the Southern Hemisphere.
Today's yarn really started when I was contacted by letter from Brian Schasser, 81, of Birmingham Gardens, a while back. He wrote that in a past article I'd mentioned shipwrights working at Kincumber, near Gosford.
"Well, I have details of four generations of shipwrights from Sydney, Kincumber, Forster and Raymond Terrace. They're all family from my wife Dale's mother's side," he wrote.
Following up with a personal visit, Weekender discovered the original family pioneers more than 220 years ago were English brothers Edward and Francis Piper. They were convicts.
"Edward Piper owed money and to pay his debts enlisted his brother to steal some flax (fibre to make linen) at a nearby wharf," Brian Schasser said.
"Instead, they were caught, found guilty in the Old Bailey court and sentenced to seven years exile at Sydney Cove. But they had to wait until their ship, the 'Minorca' was built in Newcastle, England.
"Some 101 male convicts were placed on the ship. Surprisingly, for the first time some families of convicts were allowed to go out on the transport ship. Edward and Francis families were included.
"After a 176-day voyage and 15,000 miles they finally arrived in Sydney in December 1801. Here they received their tickets-of-leave (parole) because their papers could not be found and they were encouraged to establish farms within the colony," an incredulous Schasser said.
At that time, the Sydney settlement comprised less than 6000 people thinly spread over the coastal plain.
Farmer Edward Piper was then reported killed by natives in 1806, but one son Henry (1802-1860) became the family's first-generation shipwright, moving in 1828 from Sydney to Brisbane Water (Gosford) and Kincumber to build at least four wooden schooners and ketches over 16 years.
Following his cousin's lead, Francis Piper's youngest son Jonathan (1813-1879) also moved to Kincumber in 1835 to also become a pioneer boat builder there.
By 1867 there were four boatbuilders at Kincumber, where scores of craft were built.
Jonathan built at least 22 registered boats, but died in 1879 with his last vessel, the 'Jonathan' unfinished. To complete it, his eldest son William Brisbane Piper (1844-1898), now of Forster, took some of his sons down to Kincumber to complete the task.
The ship 'Jonathan' then sailed up and down the coast but coming down from Tweed Heads seeking shelter in Newcastle in a storm was wrecked on Stockton's notorious Oyster Bank in October 1891. It was 12 years to the day from when it was launched.
"Shipwright William Brisbane Piper was an interesting bloke. At 19 years, he decided to go up the coast, met young Rachel Bramble living on the Myall River and they married at Stroud," Schasser said.
"They later moved north to Cape Hawke by bullock wagon. The journey took several weeks. The small settlement at the north-west of Cape Hawke was called Minimbah. Today it's called Forster."
Schasser said much of the clan's history had been tracked down by a Graham Piper who in 1982 produced an invaluable family reference book, The Minorca Pipers.
In it was revealed William settled south in a local area called Tobwabba. It was selected because it bore a remarkable resemblance to The Broadwater at Kincumber where William had grown up. This stretch of water is today called Pipers Bay.
"Here, William built many vessels. His first was in 1872 and it was called 'Rachel' after his wife. The nearest school was at Bulahdelah, 25 miles (40km) away but fees were three pence (3 cents) per child, per week.
"Rachel Piper bore William nine children and died in 1936 aged 91 years. William died early, aged 53 years in 1898.
"The district was still being called Minimbah in 1869 but was officially changed the next year to Forster for William Forster, the then NSW Secretary of Lands," Schasser said.
"Tuncurry was then known as North Forster, but in 1875 residents adopted the name Tuncurry (Aboriginal for 'plenty fish'). It was proclaimed a village in 1893.
"Ships only trading on the coast back then didn't require registration, but those going into Sydney Harbour did, so we know William registered 15 ships," he said.
"The youngest child of William and Rachel was Robert Piper, another boat builder. He was my wife Dale's grandfather. He died in 1961. I knew him and we got on well as we were both carpenters and joiners," Schasser said.
Robert built the luxury yacht Estrellita at Raymond Terrace with his sons and other family members. Measuring 89ft (27m) long, it could accommodate 30 people.
Work took two years and the sleek craft was launched in February 1948 before being taken to Newcastle Harbour for stepping the masts with a crane.
A very young Dale Schasser, who was on the schooner, remembered it bottomed in the river mud at Raymond Terrace and the crew had to wait for high tide to set it free.
Perhaps the grounding though was something to do with the 14 tons of lead in the ship's keel! The ship launch made page one of The Newcastle Herald.
The Estrellita finally left Australia in 1950 for a 76-day sea voyage to America. She was later supposedly bought by a member of the Marx Brothers, but then wrecked in 1966, salvaged, rebuilt as a ketch and renamed the San Souci. After that, it's a mystery. While she was last reported cruising the Caribbean, I'd love to know more.
Meanwhile Brian Schasser, the narrator of today's tale, could almost qualify as a fifth generation Piper family member.
For back in about 1963, with mate Tommy Dodd, he built a wooden lifeboat for the BHP bulk carrier Iron Spencer.
"It'd pick up iron ore in Western Australia for Newcastle and brought back our timber as deck cargo. It may have been karri. It was a light-coloured wood. We had to steam it so we could bend it into the shape of boat ribs," he said.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
