Excerpt from ‘The Other Side of the Counter – the History of Ritchies Stores’ – by D. M. Carnegie.

“Early in 1852 a small sailing ship - the "Isabella Watson" - of 430 tons departed from the Port of London for Melbourne, Australia. On her crowded passenger list was the name of an eighteen year old youth, Thomas Ritchie…………

……………. the Captain, crew and passengers aboard the little vessel were jubilant, for in spite of a squally, inclement day the excitement was mounting as the long voyage was all but over. Forgotten were the months of close confinement, cooped up with less space and privacy than an unfortunate hen in a battery, the dreary discomforts and boredom, the half rotten food and the inevitable bickering quarrels. Now they were not months, weeks or days away from their destination, but only a matter of hours. Bags packed, ready for disembarkation as they neared Port Phillip Heads, the passengers were in unanimous agreement that once ashore, surely whatever fate awaited them could not be worse than this voyage across the world.

What was to follow is best described from an extract from "Shipwrecks at Port Phillip Head, 1840 to 1963", written by the late Mr. P.T.Serle and Mr. P.J.Williams.”

And so continues the amazing story of ‘Isabella Watson’ shipwreck survivor Thomas Ritchie, who was to go on to become one of the Mornington Peninsula’s leading citizens and the founder of Ritchies Stores.