Sam Isaacs

Sam Yebble Isaacs (* 1845 in Augusta (Western Australia) , † July 14, 1920 in Metricup ) was an Australian Aborigine who, together with Grace Bussell , became known in 1876 for rescuing numerous castaways during the sinking of the schooner Georgette off the coast of Western Australia .

Isaacs was born in 1845 to an Indian sailor who had deserted an American whaler and a woman of the Wardandi tribe. He was illiterate and worked as a farm worker with horses and oxen.

On December 1, 1876, the schooner SS Georgette got into distress when water leaked into the ship in heavy seas and the pumps failed. Three lifeboats were launched near Calgardup ​​Bay. The first crashed into the hull of the georgette, the second reached the coast. The third, overloaded boat was full of water. Sam Isaacs watched from the coast and alerted the residents of the nearby farm. The 16-year-old farmer's daughter Grace Bussell was one of the first to reach the scene of the accident. According to a contemporary newspaper report, she drove her horse down the steep coast and through the heavy surf into the sea until she reached the third boat. Together with Sam Isaacs, she gradually dragged the castaways ashore with the help of ropes she had brought with her in a four-hour rescue operation. 38 out of 50 people survived the accident.

Bussell was awarded the silver medal for bravery by the Royal Humane Society , Isaacs received the bronze medal and was often honored only as the native servant of the Darling of Australia . However, Isaacs received 100 acres of land in the area from the government and later raised six children on his Ferndale farm . He died in 1920 when he was thrown from the sulky on his return from Busselton and is buried in the Busselton cemetery. A memorial stone is dedicated to him in Busselton Park today.

Web links

• Vic Isaacs: The Wreck of the Georgette

literature

• Vanessa Tucker: Aussie Heroes: Grace Bussell & Sam Isaacs . Wisdoms, 1999
• Michelle Gillespie: Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck . Fremantle Press, 2011

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Georgette . Shipwrecks, ABC Australia
2. ↑ Sam Isaacs ( Memento of the original from November 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Margaret River Vista (accessed October 26, 2014) 
3. ↑ Memorial stone in Busselton Park