On the night of November 24, 1872, the steamer "Mary Ward" ran aground on Milligan's Reef, two kilometers offshore. Recently purchased by five Owen Sound men, the vessel was making the trip from Sarnia to her new home port of Collingwood with twenty-seven aboard, including a Canadian Pacific Railway survey party when the accident occurred. The first lifeboat safely reached shore, then a fierce gale sprang up, delaying rescue operations. After a perilous journey the second lifeboat succeeded in landing but the third capsized and all eight aboard drowned. A group of local fishermen, led by Frank Moberly and Captain George Collins, later rescued those remaining on the wreck, and they were subsequently recognized by the Canadian government for their heroic actions.

Location

Near the site of the wreck, Craigleith Provincial Park, Highway 26

Themes

• Disasters