Shipwrecks of Tasmania are shipwrecks which have occurred in and around the island state of Tasmania, Australia.
Geographical and historical background
Tasmania is an island and since the time of European colonisation by the British, the population had been entirely reliant upon the sea for all physical contact with the outside world, until the development of links by air.
Since European discovery in 1642 by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, many explorers and many vessels visited Tasmania, or Tasmania's waters. Following the establishment of a British settlement in 1803 at Hobart, a local boatbuilding industry began almost immediately. Since that time Tasmania has had a very strong connection to the sea, and both commercial and recreational sailing has been a constant feature of Tasmania's history.
Tasmania's geographical position latitude 42° south, longitude 147° east, is along the line of latitude that places it in the path of the powerful winds known as the roaring forties, a band of westerly winds which blow across the Southern Ocean. Mariners of the 18th and 19th centuries utilised these winds to shorten the time it took them to reach Australia after rounding the Cape of Good Hope on their way from Europe. However, these same winds also led to the destruction of many vessels in raging seas and fierce storms. Over 1,000 vessels are thought to have been wrecked in Tasmanian waters,[1] including the eighth oldest known wreck in Australia, the ship Sydney Cove.
The Tasmanian coastline also posed several risks for mariners in the age of sail. It is regularly interspersed with jagged cliffs and submerged off-shore rocks. Also many of the inlets and bays which do provide shelter have dangerous entrances. The weather which affects Tasmania has also contributed to many wrecks. Tasmania can be susceptible to violent storms, such as the one which sank five boats competing in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
Many of the wrecks in Tasmanian waters have claimed lives, and the waters surrounding the island remain a watery grave for them. This list includes many vessels marked (X) that were lost with all hands in the so-called Bass Strait Triangle.
List of known Tasmanian wrecks accompanied by loss of life, and others
1797: Sydney Cove, full-rigged ship, beached at Preservation Island after springing a leak at sea, no lives lost in the immediate wreck, but many in subsequent boat voyage to Sydney or on the island as castaways.
1884: FarninghamComposite barque, collided with iron barque Vanguard, and the order was given to abandon ship. Crew was transferred to Vanguard but three were trapped in forecastle; 3 lives lost.
1904: Acacia, cargo barque, broke up without trace after hitting "Acacia Rocks", West Coast north of Port Davey, 9 lives lost.
1904: Brier Holme, barque, sank off southwest Tasmania after striking a reef and having cargo of dynamite explode on board, 17 lives lost.
1907: Alfhild, iron barque, smashed against cliffs in wild seas off Port Davey, 4 lives lost, 13 men made it to boats, but 7 were lost at sea, presumed dead.
1908: Orion, steamship, foundered in Bass Strait, all hands (27) lost. (X)
1920: Southern Cross, schooner, caught fire and sank in Bass Strait, all hands (9) lost. (X)
1920: Amelia J., schooner, lost at sea in Bass Strait crew of 12 presumed lost. A biplane used in the search was also lost without trace off the Furneaux Group. (?X)
1958: Willwatch Auxiliary ketch, 96/64 tons. # 101141. Built Blackwall, Brisbane Water, NSW, 1895; reg. Melbourne 5/1947. Lbd 84 ft × 21.5 ft × 7.3 ft. Master George McCarthy. From Ulverstone for King Island with general cargo, lost in a gale off the far north-west coast Tasmania, between the Hunter Group and King Island, 17 December 1958. Despite radio distress messages that allowed would-be rescuers to follow the vessel's death-throws in graphic detail for nearly two hours, the appalling weather conditions then prevailing prevented any effective rescue operations. Crew of five lost. Only the large trawlers Olympic and V.S.P. working off King Island were in a position to head for the stricken vessel. By the time they arrived the Will Watch had been sunk for at least an hour, and despite extensive air and sea searches extending over several days, no trace of the missing men was ever found.[citation needed]
1959: Blythe Star, 138-ton cargo ship, engine room exploded and ensuing fire burned her to the water, before she sank. Explosion killed engineer instantly, 10 crew survived.
1973: Blythe Star (2), 144-ton cargo ship, just 14 years after her predecessor sank, the second Blythe Star became overdue after leaving Hobart for King Island, and despite the most extensive air search ever conducted in Australia at the time, the vessel could not be located. Seven of the 10 crew were found 11 days later on the Tasman Peninsula, having escaped to the liferaft when she suddenly capsized and sank off South West Cape, Tasmania. One man died on the raft and two on land. The boat was located by a CSIRO research team nearly 50 years later, in April 2023, with just one survivor still alive at the time.[3][4]
1979: Charleston (Yacht) disappeared in Bass Strait, 5 lives lost.
1990: Great Expectations, sloop, returning to Melbourne following a successful completion of the Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race, she disappeared somewhere in the vicinity of Cape Portland without trace. It was believed she was swamped by a giant wave. Personal effects were all that was recovered. 6 lives lost. (X)
