Silver medal awarded to J. Percy McArthur by the National Shipwreck Relief Society of N.S.W. for assisting to save life at Bondi Beach, 12th March 1898

R 1155

fonds

1898

985703

1 medal - silver - diam. 4.3 cm.

The National Shipwreck Relief Society of New South Wales was founded in 1877 'for the relief of the widows, orphans and others dependent upon men lost in the marine service of our coast, or elsewhere'. The Society was established as a result of the loss of the 351 ton paddle steamer S.S. Yarra and its 17 man crew in July 1877 in Newcastle Harbour. The Society was instituted on 25th July, 1877, and its first meeting, under the presidency of Mr F. H. Dangar, was held on 27th July, 1877. In 1902 it became the Royal Shipwreck Relief & Humane Society of New South Wales, and in 1968 it was re-named the Royal Humane Society of New South Wales.

This medal was awarded to J. Percy McArthur for a rescue which took place at Bondi Beach on 12 March 1898. A boy and two would-be rescuers got into difficulties and Mr McArthur and other men from the nearby baths assisted in their rescue. The incident was reported in The Sydney Morning Herald on 14 March 1898. The medal was presented to J. P. McArthur on 11 August 1898 at the National Shipwreck Relief Society of N.S.W annual meeting at the Town Hall in Sydney.

It is likely the medal's recipient was John Percival McArthur (1858-1950), son of businessman and politician Alexander McArthur (1814-1909). John Percival McArthur is reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, 7th May 1898, as becoming a N.S.W. magistrate and residing at "Braylesford", Bondi.

The medal was designed by J. W. Sayer in 1878 and first minted in 1879.

References:
Museum Victoria. http://museumvictoria.com.au/ (accessed July 19, 2012)
Royal Humane Society of New South Wales. http://www.braveryaward.org/ (accessed July 19, 2012).
The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 March 1898, 7 May 1898, and 12 August 1898. Accessed on Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au/ (accessed August 6, 2012).
Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://adb.anu.edu.au/ (accessed August 6, 2012).
Library correspondence file.

Silver medal in original leather presentation case with inscription of 'National Shipwreck Relief Society of N.S.W.' on lid.

Cast on obverse: Depiction of a sailor attending to a ship-wrecked man. Behind is an angel consoling a woman and child. Around the rim is inscribed ‘Sunt Lacrymae Rerum Sunt Et Sua Praemia Laudi’.

Cast on reverse: "Awarded to J. Percy McArthur for assisting to save life at Bondi Beach 12 March 1898" Around the rim is a depiction of a lifebuoy with inscription ‘National Shipwreck Relief Society of N.S.W.’

Attached to the top of medal is a pin bar. Remnants of an olive-coloured ribbon are inside case.

Out of copyright: Creator died before 1955.
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales