Captained by the delightfully named Fortescue Harris, the Madagascar departed from Melbourne in 1853. Destined for England, her cargo included at least three tons of gold. Despite several claims to the contrary, the ship was never seen again.
The Madagascar had been due to stop over at Cape Horn, but never arrived—narrowing her disappearance to somewhere between Australia and the southern tip of Africa. Other than that, there aren’t many concrete clues.
We do know that there were probably quite a few shady characters on board the ship. The captain had lost a number of men to the gold rush that was gripping the area and he’d picked up a new crew to replace them—including a pair of notorious bushrangers who were arrested before the ship set sail. One very plausible theory is that there was a mutiny on board and the ship was seized. But then was it taken somewhere else? Offloaded? Boarded by pirates? Sunk by another ship or run aground on an atoll? No one knows for sure, but the Madagascar remains an intriguing prize for any treasure hunter.
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