Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 - 1953), Monday 19 January 1953, page 3


LINKS WITH EARLY HISTORY. Two sisters whose grandfather was a member of the crew of a life-boat which assisted at the wreck of the Admella at Cape Northumber-land in 1859, are holidaying in Mt. Gambier. They are Miss Kathleen Kelly, of Millswood, and Mrs. E. Kil-dea, of Yorketown, who are staying at "Tarryhere." Their grandfather was Captain John Dagwell, who was one of the lighthouse keepers at Cape Northumberland, where he arrived in 1858. He assisted Ben Germein in rescuing survivors from the Ad-mella. In 1861 he leapt from a lifeboat to rescue people on the John Ormerod, a brig which capsized in a gale off Cape Northumberland. Captain Dagwell later became Har-bor Master at Glenelg. Miss Kelly said Adam Lindsay Gordon used to give her mother rides on his grey pony when she was five years old. Her father was a police officer in Mount Gambier in the 1880's. One day he told his friends he was going to Glenelg to bring back a prisoner. This turned out to be his bride. Miss Kelly and Mrs. Kildea visited the police station, where her parents lived. They are also visiting Port MacDonnell and Portland, to see subjects associated with their grand-father.