Forgotten story of the day 14 footballers drowned off Mornington

By Carolyn Webb
Updated September 5 2016 - 10:08am, first published August 31 2016 - 1:52am
Paul Kennedy at the Mornington monument to the 15 people who drowned.
 Photo: Penny Stephens
Paul Kennedy at the Mornington monument to the 15 people who drowned. Photo: Penny Stephens
Sketch from the Australasian newspaper of the sunken boat Process in which 15 young men from Mornington died in 1892. Photo: Supplied
Sketch from the Australasian newspaper of the sunken boat Process in which 15 young men from Mornington died in 1892. Photo: Supplied
Presbyterian minister Reverend James Caldwell, father of three men who died in the 1892 boating accident off Mornington.  Photo: Mornington and District Historical Society
Presbyterian minister Reverend James Caldwell, father of three men who died in the 1892 boating accident off Mornington. Photo: Mornington and District Historical Society
Tom Coxhell was a player in the 1892 Mornington Football Club but had a bad feeling about the voyage so chose not to board the boat.  Photo: Mornington and District Historical Society
Tom Coxhell was a player in the 1892 Mornington Football Club but had a bad feeling about the voyage so chose not to board the boat. Photo: Mornington and District Historical Society

Deep fingernail scratch marks in the hull told of their desperate struggle to stay alive. But all 15 young men aboard, including 14 local football players, died when their boat capsized off Mornington on May 21, 1892.

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