Sindia: the cargo and the long-lived wreck (1901)

The ship named on the marker

The four-masted Sindia grounded in a southeasterly storm on December 15, 1901, while sailing from Kobe to New York. Ocean City’s historical marker identifies captain Allen McKenzie and a cargo of porcelain, bamboo matting, camphor oil, manganese and wax. It records that everyone aboard was rescued by the Ocean City lifesaving station under Captain J. M. Corson.

The same marker says the vessel broke in two on the third day. Its cargo offers a documented starting point for the story; accounts of exotic treasure require evidence beyond the ship’s Asian departure port.

The wreck becomes an image

The Historical Society of Riverton’s collection includes Sindia postcards with dates extending into the 1930s. These preserve the wreck’s role in shore tourism long after the storm. A card’s postal or catalog date should not automatically be treated as the date its photograph was taken.