Is Magnetic Island the Bermuda Triangle of Australia?
Scattered around our island are the remains of at least 20 known shipwrecks. We could hold claim to being the Bermuda triangle of Australia. If you care to seek them out some are still visible at low tides, some require snorkel or scuba gear and others are lost, and exist in name only. You will find various story boards around the island or via Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Information sheet.
There are no strange forces at work, many of the wrecks were scuttled on purpose to provide breakwaters in various bays. Coupled with large amounts of shipping into Townsville and cyclones over the years.
A big thank you to the volunteers and staff at the Magnetic Island History and Craft Centre and the Maritime Museum of Townsville who supplied much of the following information. The Magnetic Island History and Craft centre is free to visit and is well worth spending some time in when you are on the island.
What can you expect to find?
Nelly Bay
Presto (1896) – Still visible
As you arrive by ferry and pass through the breakwater walls, you may spy a pyramid of concrete on your left. This is the bow section of a boat that protected the jetty that once stood on the eastern side of Nelly Bay. The wreck lay very close to the modern-day harbour entrance. The remains of the wreck were removed during the construction of the new harbour. You can access the bow by walking along the Presto Breakwater to the end.
Presto and Nelly Bay Jetty 1900’s State Library of Queensland
Originally a well constructed iron barque of 360 tons, she was launched in Amsterdam as ‘Emergens’ before being renamed Presto. She traded successfully between Hong Kong , New Zealand, India and Australia before ending her days in Townsville as a Coal Hulk. A particularly vicious cyclone in 1896, Cyclone Sigma, smashed her into the Townsville Breakwater where she sank.
An island local, Mr Bright, of Bright Point, bought the wreck and towed it over to the island to scuttle her as a breakwater, the first of many to meet the same fate. Back then you only needed a ship and some dynamite to create a breakwater. Things are a little different these days!
Lavinia (1896) – Not visible
Heading from Nelly Bay towards Picnic Bay, stop at the Rocky Bay lookout just past XBase Backpackers. The view is worth it, and the rocky point is home to another victim of Cyclone Sigma, Nothing visible is left of the the Lavinia.
The 118 ton two masted schooner with an ‘interesting’ history, was only under ballast as she tried to escape the approaching cyclone on the 23rd of January 1896 under Captain Augustus Paesch. The weather proved too strong and she tried to anchor in the lee of Cape Cleveland on 24th of January with both anchors deployed. At 8:30am on the 26th of January the port cable parted and the ‘Lavina’ dragged. The wind was blowing with hurricane force and the vessel was dragged until it was driven ashore at Hawking Point, Magnetic Island.
Remarkably of the 6 crew, only one was lost (Frank Rowley, who was killed by a wave smashing him onto the mast). The others escaped in true Hollywood style when the boat hit Hawkings Point. The master swung the boom to allow the crew to clamber to shore whilst he hung on to the main sheet. As the last person to leave he held onto the rope and ‘in a great swing that lifted him off the deck above the boiling cauldron that separated the boat from safety, he landed amongst his cheering men’.
The later inquiry found that the captain did all he could to save the vessel under the circumstances. The Marine Board concurred with the findings of the inquiry and commended the captain for his successful efforts to save the lives of the crew (Marine Board of Queensland 1896).
A brief history of the Lavinia:
- The Lavinia started as a timber and coal ship before being converted to carry 97 recruit workers (kanakas) to supply labour for the North Queensland sugar industry a practice known as ‘Blackbirding’. The Lavinia completed 20 such voyages.
- Sept 1871 – Rescued crew of Delhi wrecked Indispensable Reef
- March 1873 – Seized in the Solomon’s when she ran afoul of the Royal Navy during which six men were killed.
- July 1874 – Anuda Island Five killed.
- April-July 1883 – A mate, a Government Agent and two men killed
- 1884 – Captain’s hand shattered by dynamite, amputated by surgeon of H.M.S. Lark
- 1890 – Put into Brisbane in distress
Picnic Bay
PS George Rennie (1902) – Still visible
Nestled against the rocks on the Northern end of Picnic Bay, this wreck is accessible on very low tides and can be snorkeled at other times when only a tiny portion remains on the surface. Scuttled as a breakwater in 1902 by the Butler family, she was built in Middlesex as a 151 gross ton paddle steamer but was converted into a lighter, transporting coal to Townsville Harbour. PS means Paddle Steamer. Imagine this little paddle steamer making its way over from England! What a journey that must have been?
PS George Rennie, Picnic Bay Magnetic Island, 2017. Courtesy of Neil Randell.George Rennie had a career spanning about a 40 years as a Victorian Government vessel connected with royals – and convicts. In 1897, Howard Smith and Sons bought her and stripped her down to run as a lighter between Townsville and Cairns. In June, 1897, she sank in Townsville laden with goods bound for Charters Towers. She was re-floated and worked another five years before being scuttled as a breakwater.
The Bee (1901) – not visible
Beached near the Picnic Bay Surf Club this 100 ton wooden steam screw launch was originally employed on the Sydney to Manly Ferry run by the Watson Ferry Service. She was purchased in 1889 by Robert Hayles Snr. as the first of his ferries for the Magnetic island ferry run. Her steering gear jammed as she cast off from Picnic Bay jetty and she was forced up onto the beach where she was reduced to a wreck within two days by the heavy weather.
Cockle Bay
City of Adelaide (1916) – Still visible
Perhaps the most famous of all the wrecks, she was Tourism Australia’s most liked Instagram post of 2018 after all!
Not to be confused with the other City of Adelaide which is being restored, this composite three masted barque-rigged screw steamer ‘City of Adelaide’ was originally employed by the Australian Steamship Company for transport of passengers between Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane till 1885. Originally a well-appointed ship, in 1890 the vessel sold to W. Ritchie of Sydney, who ripped her boilers out and converted her totally to sail. She became a four-mast sailing barque trading around the world. The ‘City of Adelaide’ was later purchased by the Howard Smith Company and used as a coal hulk.
A fire on ‘City of Adelaide’ was reported in the Brisbane Courier, Tuesday 19 July 1910, and she became a shadow of her former self, left to rot in Townsville Harbour. In November 1915 George Butler purchased the hulk ‘City of Adelaide’ with the intention of taking her to Magnetic Island as floating accommodation. The only flaw in his plan was the snapping of the towrope on the journey over. Despite desperate attempts to reconnect the line she was dragged away by the current to her final resting place in Cockle Bay.
For a time she became a bathhouse for swimmers. She was also a practice target for Beaufort Torpedo bombers during WW2. Unfortunately, on one run a plane from 100 Squadron clipped the masts on the ship and it spun into the sea killing all four crew on board.
Because of her popularity people are making the trek over the mudflats to see her at low tide. If you are going to try this please, watch the incoming tide, and wear shoes. There are stone-fish, stingrays and cone shells around the island.
Geoffrey Bay
The Moltke (1911) – Still visible/Dive & Snorkel Site
This wreck forms part of the Geoffrey Bay snorkel trail and is just past the fourth float. You will be able to spot part of her peaking above the water on our lowest tides. 52 metres long and built in Hamburg in 1870 she is described as ‘beautiful, expensively furnished and spotlessly kept’.
Perhaps not the luckiest of vessels, she had a number of mishaps in her career before she was scuttled to protect the jetty landing at Arcadia. On 23rd April 1891 she ran aground on the Barrier Reef, westward of Cape Bowling-Green whilst bound from Townsville to Rockhampton. The ‘Moltke’ had three feet of water in its hold when the captain and crew left the vessel in two boats. The abandoned vessel was bought for salvage for only £5, re-floated and eventually towed back to Townsville by the ‘SS Christina Gollan’ , where the cargo and fixtures were sold for profit.Burns, Philp & Co. bought her for £400 and converted the ship to a coal hulk. The ‘Moltke‘ ran aground on the banks of Ross Creek in 1895 but was again re-floated. In 1903 she broke from its moorings during Cyclone Leonta and went ashore near Cape Marlow.
In 1911 Townsville dentist Dr Patrick McCabe bought Moltke and had her towed from Townsville to Geoffrey Bay to be scuttled as a breakwater, evidently in the wrong place. There are various stories about her final moments, but my favourite has to do with the demolition crew imbibing too much local fruit wine and setting the explosives off too early. The breakwater was in the wrong place, which didn’t really help Dr. McCabe, but today we have an awesome dive site in 8m of water just off shore these days.
Arthur and Florence Bays
The Octopus (1914) – Not Visible
In 1880 this 50 metre dredge was the largest vessel built in Queensland. She started work on the Brisbane River before moving to Townsville in 1889. By 1914 she was no longer up to the job. In 1914 John Murrie and Don McKerracher hatched a plan to recycle her materials for their boat building business. They bought the stripped hull and ran her onto the reef flat opposite their boat shed in Nelly Bay. In 1928 after many complaints about the eyesore on the beach the Hayles’ launch Malanda dragged the hulk out to deeper water between Arthur and Florence Bays where she finally sank out of sight.
The Platypus – Dive site (3-7m of water)
The main shipping channel into the Port of Townsville is named after the Platypus dredge which began the work in 1884. The most advanced dredge of the time it had speed of 7 knots. She dredged many of Queensland’s ports before returning to Townsville where she was scuttled between Arthur and Florence Bays in 1902
These days with the right equipment you can find the wreck remains covered over by hard coral, with the most recognisable features being square boilers and their associated steam plumbing.
There are plenty more dotted around the island, just look for the signs, or ask a local! What’s your favourite wreck?
Please look after and protect the sites
Courtesy of GBRMPA:
You must not collect, touch, move or interfere with artefacts or relics. Twelve wrecks in Magnetic Island waters are considered historic (under national maritime heritage legislation) as they are over 75 years old. Even minor disturbance to the surface of a wreck can begin or accelerate degradation.
When exploring the wonders of the past it is important to protect the beauty and history of the shipwrecks for future generations by taking the following steps.
When planning your visit and arriving at a wreck site:
- do not tie marker buoys or access lines directly to the shipwrecks
- do not anchor on shipwrecks
- keep group sizes to a minimum
- know where you can fish — pick up your free zoning map (map 7) at bait and tackle shops or access online at www.gbrmpa.gov.au.
When snorkelling and diving at wreck sites:
- look, but don’t touch
- be aware of your fins
- exercise proper buoyancy control
- ensure that all diving equipment — such as gauges and regulators — are secured firmly and not dragging
- do not enter the wreck, observe from the outside.
Sources:
Fernbach, N & Edwards, T 2018, Magnetic Island’s forgotten shipwrecks have untapped tourism potential, ABC, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-31/forgotten-shipwrecks-of-magnetic-island-tourism-bid/9795918>.
GBRMPA 2018, Dive into history around Magnetic Island, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, http://hdl.handle.net/11017/3404
Marine Board of Queensland 1896, Wreck of Schooner Lavina Marine Board Report, Marine Board of Queensland, Brisbane.
MIHCC Wrecked!, Magnetic Island History and Craft Centre, Magnetic Island.
Rhodes, F 1937, Pageant of the Pacific : being the maritime history of Australasia Thwaites, , Sydney 1937.
Shipwreck Trail, What’s On Magnetic Island, https://www.whatsonmagneticisland.com.au/shipwreck-trail>.
Stevens, EV 1950, ‘Blackbirding : a brief history of the South Sea Islands labour traffic and the vessels engaged in it’, Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 361-403.