Twelve lives were lost in stormy conditions when the barque Edward Lombe was wrecked on Middle Head, Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour, on the night of 25 August 1834 while inward bound from Hobart. 

Trying to escape certain destruction outside the Heads, the vessel plied ahead without a pilot to guide the way.

Heavy seas quickly broke the ships’ back, but the poop (the enclosed space on a ship above the main deck) containing most of the survivors remained on the rocks and eventually seventeen people were rescued.