{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}} {{Infobox ship <!-- age of sail --> |infobox_caption= <!-- keywords: yes, nodab; or caption text --> |display_title=ital |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= |image_size= |image_caption= }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country= |flag={{flagcountry|UKGBI|civil}} |name=''Fanny Nicholson'' |owner= Captain John McArthur and William Andrews, Hobart |ordered= |builder= John Pile, Hartlepool |original_cost= |laid_down= |launched= 17 June 1855 |acquired= |commissioned= |decommissioned= |in_service= |out_of_service= |renamed= |struck= |reinstated= |honours= |honors= |captured= |fate= Wrecked Frenchman's Bay, 22 November 1872 |notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class=Barque |tons_burthen=*Old Act: 356 (bm) *New Act (post 1836): 285 (bm) |length={{convert|120|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|25|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |draught= |draft={{convert|15|ft|7|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |hold_depth= |propulsion= |sail_plan= |complement= |armament= |notes=<ref name=shipwreck>{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/maritime-archaeology-db/wrecks/fanny-nicholson|title=Fanny Nicholson (1872/11/22) Frenchman's Bay, King George Sound|work=Shipwreck Databases|publisher=Western Australian Museum|accessdate=14 February 2018}}</ref> }} }}
'''''Fanny Nicholson''''' was an iron-framed, timber-clad barque that sank in 1872 in Frenchman's Bay<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/gazette/gg.nsf/gen/1D01A8F5B0E68443C82574AC0011D5C4?openDocument|title=Government Gazette Western Australia|date=22 August 2008|accessdate=14 February 2018|publisher=Government of Western Australia}}</ref> in King George Sound near Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
The barque was built in Hartlepool in County Durham. It was fitted with one deck, a poop deck, an elliptical stern and a figurehead in the shape of a woman. It was copper-fastened, sheathed with felt and yellow metal. The ship required repairs in 1856 and 1861 for damage incurred while in operation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fanny Nicholson - a general history|url=http://www.hhtandn.org/notes/484/fanny-nicholson-a-general-history|website=Hartlepool History Then & Now|publisher=Hartlepool Borough Council|accessdate=17 February 2018}}</ref> During its early years of service it was sailed from Liverpool to destinations in South America<ref name=shipwreck/> and was sailed to Australia arriving in 1859.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article787712 |title=Shipping News |newspaper=The South Australian Advertiser |volume=I |issue=161 |location=South Australia |date=14 January 1859 |accessdate=14 February 2018 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
It was operating as a whaler out of Hobart by 1870, when her owners included Captain John McArthur and William Andrews.<ref name=shipwreck/><ref>{{cite web |title=Australian Colonial Whaling Ship Voyages |url=https://whalinghistory.org/?s=Fanny+nicholson&db=T&t=S |website=whalinghistory.org |publisher=New Bedford Whaling Museum |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref>
The ship struck a whale on 21 November 1872 while en route from Hobart to Albany. After tying the whale to the side of the vessel it proceeded to Frenchman's Bay where it anchored to process the whale. The following night a gale rose from the southeast and it broke two anchor cables and foundered close to shore at Goode Beach.<ref name=shipwreck/><ref name=sc>{{cite web |url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/Southern%20Coast.pdf |title=Shipwrecks of the Southern Coast|accessdate=14 February 2018|publisher=Western Australian Museum}}</ref>
A total of 70 tuns (66,775 litres)<ref>{{cite web |title=Convert Tuns to Litres |url=http://www.kylesconverter.com/volume/tuns-to-litres |website=Kyles Converter |accessdate=9 March 2020}}</ref> of sperm oil, the sails, rigging, whaling equipment, provisions and other contents were recovered from the wreck and shipped to Hobart for auction. The remains of the vessel can sometimes be seen in shallow water after heavy storms.<ref name=sc/>
==See also== * {{section link|List of shipwrecks of Australia|Western Australia}}
==References== {{reflist}} {{1872 shipwrecks}} {{coord|35.083|S|117.9367|E|display=title}}
Category:Shipwrecks of Western Australia Category:Maritime incidents in November 1872 Category:Barques of Australia Category:King George Sound Category:1855 ships Category:Whaling ships Category:Whaling in Australia