Capt. S. H. Hill
Capt. S. H. Hill
Genial Skipper of Albany Island
With Compliments of the Author
Francis O'Neill
July 25th, '23
Though no record can be found (as of this writing) of a Captain S. H. Hill, O'Neill was known to have had a career on sailing ships early in his life (1865-9), and stayed in touch with people from his voyages. His life of sea has been plotted by Anne Barry in a wonderful project through the Digital Chicago initiative.
The geographic reference may be to Pabaju, also know as Albany Island, off the northern tip of Australia's Cape York peninsula. The island is known for a number of shipwrecks, including that of the Scotish-built steamship RMS Quetta, operated by the British India Associated Steamers company. The Quetta wrecked on an uncharted rock off of Albany Island in the Torres Strait on 18 February, 1890, with the loss of 134 of the 292 people on board. At the time, it was Queensland's worst maritime disaster.
Thanks to Dr. Thomas J. Kinahan of Vancouver Canada, who purchased this copy of Irish Minstrels and Musicians roughly twenty years ago on Ebay.