The Joseph H Scammell was a Canadian sailing ship that was built at Eatonville, Nova Scotia in 1884 and shipwrecked at Point Danger, Torquay, Victoria, Australia in 1891.

Today the village is a vanished ghost town in the middle of Cape Chignecto Provincial Park but in 1884 it was the centre of a large lumbering operation and a substantial shipyard.

[1][2] On May 7, 1891, when the vessel was on its 114th day of its voyage from New York City to Melbourne, the Scammell had set a course for Port Phillip Heads when bad weather and rough seas dragged the ship towards shores where it ran aground on a reef near Point Danger of Torquay.

One of the fisherman, Felix Rosser, attempted to row out to the ship to provide assistance but was forced back to shore by strong seas.

In the following days, the cargo of the ship was washed ashore and an estimated 2,000 locals began looting various merchandise which included tobacco, buggy sides, leather, clothing and kerosene.