WESTERN AUSTRALIA SHIPWRECKS                             Enter here to bring up frames page with book codes if not already loaded.

The science of maritime archaeology in Australia commenced with the development of a unit of the WA Museum under Jeremy Green in 1971, and has proved itself to be a dedicated and productive team, now under Graeme Henderson. The initial interst was the Dutch wrecks, principally the Batavia 1629, the Vergulde Draeck, 1656, the Zuytdorp, 1712 and the Zeewijk, 1727. The initiatives of the department have included the professional development of other maritime archaeology units in Australian capital cities, the use, encouragement and development of the skills of keen amateur divers, and the introduction of the national and state shipwreck protection laws. Their skills have spread to the investigation of other historic Australian vessels such as the Pandora and Sirius.

The Western Australian coastline, some 10,000 kilometres of it, varies from ragged rocky reefs at the base of formidable cliffs to long sandy beaches (some of the finest in the world).  There is no pattern of wrecks, or significant groups for study, other than the Dutch wrecks, and perhaps, the many hundreds of pearling luggers lost off the north coast. Most other vessels have been sailing ships bringing immigrants to the developing lands around Perth and Albany, and the steamers adding more settlers and bringing with them material goods from England. One of the largest vessels lost was that of the 10,925 ton steamer Periciles, lost off Cape Leeuwin in 1910; and the 6298 ton passenger liner, Orizaba, wrecked on the approach to Fremantle in 1905. The largest vessel appears to have been the steel bulk carrier Sanko Harvest, 33,024 tons, which broke in two and sank near Esperance in 1991; and the 18,638 ton bulk carrier Korean Star, lost as recent as 1988. Several interesting sailing ships were lost off Rottnest island (separate listing), and on the approaches to Fremantle: the 1545 ton Carlisle Castle, 1899; and the 998 ton barque Denton Holme, 1890. With such a long coastline, it is concievable that more wrecksites will be discovered, but none could be as exciting as that in 1978 when the site of the American trader Rapid was found by spearfishermen off Point Cloates - more than 19,000 coins were found scattered on the seabed after the ship was lost in 1811. With the reward system in place, the men profited well for their discovery.

References:
The prime reference for Western Australian shipwrecks is the three volume set by Graeme Henderson et al, but this has not been referenced to date. The following listing is based on Loney [LW],  with contributions from Bateson [AS1].
[803 records]

Associated links:  NORTH WA        ABROLHOS ISLANDS     ROTTNEST ISLANDS




A.106. Fishing boat. Swamped near Albany, WA, 17 February 1976. [LW]

Abemama. Three masted schooner, wood, 317 tons. Built Nova Scotia 1918. Lbd 133.6 x 32.6 x 12.2 ft. Forced ashore in a gale, destroyed by fire believed to have been started by vandals, 26 June 1927. She lies in the sand dunes near woodman’s point, Cockburn Sound, WA, not far south pf the tug Alacrity. [LW],[LH - built Liverpool, England],[LAH]

Aboyne. Vessel, guano carrier, 407 tons. Built London 1875. Lbd 184.2 x 26.2 x 15.2 ft. Captain Swan. Foundered in a storm, Lacepede Islands, off WA, February 1877.The mainmast fell, carrying her rigging with it and within twenty minutes she had disintegrated drowning the captain’s wife, two children and three of the crew, including the carpenter who reached the beach but was crushed by the ship when he returned to help others still trapped on board. [LW],[HH2]

Achieved. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Foundered near Two Rocks, WA, 25 November 1963. [LW]

Activity. Ketch, 62 tons. Built 1879, reg. Sydney. Capsized on the bank as the tide went out and sank, while discharging cargo at Condon, WA,  July 1892. She was too badly damaged to be repaired. [LW],[ASR]

Adela. Pearling cutter. Wrecked ashore in cyclone, Mangrove Islands near the Fortescue River, WA, 7 February 1881. [LW]

Adelma. Fishing boat. Left Fremantle for Moore River with two aboard on 3 September 1930; not seen again but a skeleton and wreckage were found near Yanchep Rocks on 4 October. [LW]

Advance. Lighter, originally a schooner of 45 tons. Built 1874. Lost on the bar at the entrance to the Swan River, WA, July 1886.  [LW]

Advance. Paddle steamer, 38, Fremantle, 1874. Wrecked Swan River, WA, July 1887. [ASR]

Advance. Wooden paddle steamer, 45 tons. Built Perth 1874. Lbd 73 x 16.8 x 4.5 ft. Wrecked ashore on the Swan River bar, WA, 23 July 1887. [LW]

African. Wooden ship, 774 tons. Built 1853; reg London. Lbd 157.5 x 33 x 21.6 ft. Ashore and lost at Champion Bay, WA, 150 metres from the jetty. January 1863. Timbers used to build the cutters Albatros, Lass of Geraldton and Mary Ann. In 1977 divers found wreckage which may have come from this vessel.  [LW]

Agincourt. Wooden barque, 456 tons. Built Sunderland 1863; reg. Adelaide. Lbd 131.9 x 28.5 x 18.2 ft. Beached after going on a reef in rough weather at Hamelin Bay, WA, 19 April 1882. The barque soon broke up.  [LW]
@ Divers from the WA Museum first inspected the wreck in 1977, and it was declared an historic wreck in the same year. Remains include portion of the hull, stern post and jarrah sleepers which comprised her cargo.[LAH - steel steamship]

Agnes. Schooner, 43 tons. Built 1874; reg. Fremantle. Lbd 62.2 x 18 x 5.4 ft. Wrecked ashore in a gale, Bremer Bay, WA, 24 April 1892. [LW],[ASR]

Agnes. Lugger, 7 tons. Built 1876; reg. Sydney. Lost WA coast, February 1892. [ASR]

Airlie. Schooner, 236 tons. Built 1876; reg. Fremantle.Burnt Ashburton WA, January 1889. [ASR]

Airlie. Schooner, 237 tons. Built Dundee 1877. Lbd 114.9 x 23.7 x 12.4 ft. After catching fire while at sea, was stranded and lost at Ashburton, WA, 15 January 1889. [LW]

Ajax. French whaler. Ran down and sank the American whaler Ann Maria in southern Western Australian waters, 30 August 1842. Crew of the Ann Maria rescued by the Ajax, taken to Albany. [ASW1]

Alacrity. Steel vessel, steam tug, 353 tons. Built at Graville, France as the Jean Bart, 1893. Lbd 145.6 x 27.1 x 13.5 ft. Ashore near Woodman’s Point, Cockburn Sound, WA, and abandoned, April 1931. After service as a tug at Melbourne the Alacrity was used by the Australian Navy during World War 1 for towing and minesweeping duties, then as a tender during construction of the Henderson Naval Base. She was sold for dismantling in 1927; later blown ashore near woodman’s point, Cockburn sound, WA, April 1931. [LW],[LH],[LAH - iron steamer]

Albatross. Cutter. Built 1863 or after from timbers from ship African, lost Champion Bay, WA, 1863. Owner/builder shipwright called Garrard lost his life on the vessel. Not sure if she was lost. [LW]

Albatross. Vessel of 18 tons. Capsized in Port Irwin, WA, June 1868. Eight drowned.

Albert. Lugger. Lost near Cossack, 1888. [LW]

Albion. Schooner. Wrecked at the northern end of Garden Island, WA, 8 April 1849.  [LW]

Alert. Cutter, 19 ton. Stranded on the Murray River bar, WA, and became a total wreck, 1875. [LW]

Alex T. Brown. Four-masted wooden schooner, 788 tons. Built at Ballard U.S.A. 1903. Lbd 180.9 x 40.2 x 14.4 ft. Captain Walter H. Myers. Struck rocks at Wreck Point about 80 km north of Fremantle, 29 May 1917. The tug Wyola, despatched to her aid was unable to approach close enough to fasten a line and she gradually drove high on to the beach where the remains of her hull were visible for more than 50 years. [LW],[LH],[LAH]

Alexander P. Panamanian ore carrier, steel vessel 55,320 tonnes. Built as the Tsurasaki Maru, ex. ACACIA of the Korea Line, Seoul., completed in 1967. Lbd 250 x 38.6 x 14.3 metres. Foundered off the Western Australian coast, March 1986. [LW]

Alice. Lugger, 13 tons. Wrecked ashore in Foam Passage near Cossack, WA, January 1892. [LW]

Alkimos. Steel Liberty Ship, 7176 tons. Built at Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore 1943 as the George M. Shriver, completed as the Viggo Hansteen, then changed again to Alkimos in 1953 when purchased by a Greek shipping line.  This shipyard contributed 385 Liberty Ships in World War 2. Lbd 441.5 x 56.9 x 37 ft. Aground when under tow, Wreck Point near Yanchep, WA, 321 May 1963. Twice she was freed only to drift ashore again; in July 1965, with her back broken she was declared a total loss and sold for scrapping. On 19 March the Alkimos had grounded on a reef off Beagle Island about 100 kilometres south of Geraldton, WA, while bound from Bunbury to Indonesian ports. She was refloated about a week later and proceeded to Fremantle under her own steam, escorted by the tug Yuna. While there awaiting repairs she was badly damaged by fire so her owners decided she would be refitted in Hong Kong. On 30 May the tug Pacific Reserve set out with the Alkimos in tow however the following morning a heavy gale caused the tow line to snap and she went ashore. Stories of a ghost, dressed in oil skins roaming her deserted decks and companion ways first surfaced when two Filipinos living on board as caretakers reported hearing footsteps following them and strange noises at night. They soon left, and those who followed them all reported an eerie presence. Some also claimed to have seen the tall ghostly figure, wearing rubber boots and a dark grey coat moving about the ship, apparently walking through solid walls and closed doors. Now left to disintegrate the battered hulk is gradually disappearing beneath the waves.  [LW],[LH],[LAH]

Alma May. Small craft. Sank off the WA coast after hitting a whale, 8 August 1970. [LW]

Alpha. Pearling schooner. Wrecked ashore in cyclone, Mangrove Islands near the Fortescue River, WA, 7 February 1881. [LW]

Amicitia. Norwegian barque, 562 tons. Left Bunbury for London on 15 September 1898 and was not seen again. Lloyds posted her missing in May 1899. [LW]

Amity. Fishing vessel. Foundered near Horrock’s Beach, WA, 13 March 1972. [LW]

Amur. Barque, composite vessel, 236 tons. Built as the Agnes Holt at Sunderland 1862. Lbd 110 x 24 x 12 ft. Stranded near Fremantle and eventually abandoned, 1888.   [LW]

Ana. Schooner, 10 tons. Capsized near Swan Point, WA, during a squall, 6 February 1903. [LW]

Ann Maria. American whaler, 368 tons. From New London, USA. Captain Middleton. Run down by the French whaler Ajax, southern Western Australian waters, 30 August 1842. The Ann Maria sank, taking with her 2,000 barrels of oil, but no lives lost, they being rescued by the Ajax, taken to Albany, and then on to Melbourne by the Sarah. [ASW1]

Anna J. Fishing boat. Lost off WA coast, 1961. Three lives lost.  [LW]

Anne. Schooner, 71 tons. Built Port Darwin. Lbd 76.4 x 18.4 x 6.1 ft. Destroyed in cyclones that battered Cossack and Roeburne, WA, 3 and 4 January 1894.  [LW]

Anne Maree. Fishing boat. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 30 June 1958. [LW]

Annie. Lugger. Reported lost at Weld Island, WA, possibly in 1932. [LW]

Annie Agnes. Cutter, 33 tons. Lost near Cossack, WA, 22 May 1909. [LW]

Annie Lisle. Barque, 347 tons. Built Quebec 1865; reg. Adelaide. . Lbd 132.9 x 26.3 x 12.7 ft. Sank after a collision with SS Australind near Fremantle, 20 May 1887. Her hull was later used as a barge. The Australind had hit a sandbank and had just got clear when the collision occurred. [LW],[ASR - 324 tons],[LAH]

Annie M. Young. Brig, 303 tons. Built 1863. Lbd 109.6 x 26.7 x 17.5 ft. Ashore in a gale at Bunbury, 6 October 1876. [LW]

Antelope. Vessel type not recorded. Ashore in a gale at Leschenault, WA, 28 February 1845. One man drowned. Presume refloated. [ASW1]

Apache. Fishing vessel. Lost near Ledge Point, WA,  8 March 1974. [LW]

Aquainita. Fishing boat. Sank near Wedge Island, WA, 21 June 1976. [LW]

Aquila. Fishing vessel. Wrecked on reef at entrance to Hutt River, WA, 8 January 1972. [LW]

Arab. Ketch, 76 tons. Built 1898. Lbd 87.8 x 22.2 x 6.6 ft. Dragged her anchors and blew ashore in a gale, wrecked, Geraldton, 12 October 1921. [LW]

Arab. Steam launch. Foundered north of Fremantle, 15 March 1930. Crew of five swam ashore. [LW]

Arcadia. Norwegian barque, wooden 6o4 tons. Built 1891. Lbd 143.9 x 34.1 x 15.9 ft..
Wrecked ashore on the southern side of Hamelin Bay about 50 metres out from the jetty during strong gales, 25 April 1900.  [LW]

Ariel. Pearling vessel, 26 tons. Built 1845. Ashore in a gale near the Ashburton River, WA, 4 January 1868. Master and two crewmen drowned; sole survivor. [LW]

Ariel. Schooner, 75 tons. Built Fremantle 1877. Lbd 75.3 x 19.5 x 7.8 ft. Left Cossack for De Grey River in March but was not seen again; a severe cyclone swept the area shortly after she sailed, 1883. [LW]

Arison. Missing off the WA coast, December 1990. [LW]

Aristides. French barque, 1721 tons. Built 1876. Lbd 260 x 39.5 x 24.5 ft. Wrecked ashore in a gale, Hamelin Bay, WA, 25 October 1889.  [LW]

Arpenteur. Brig, 95 tons. Built 1839. Lbd 72.2 x 18 x 10.6 ft. Wrecked at Cheynes Beach, WA, in a gale, 7 November 1849.  Her remains were discovered by divers c.1972. [
LW],[ASW1 - wrecked at Chequers Beach, WA]

Asia. Pearling cutter. Foundered near Cossack, WA, 20 August 1891. [LW]

Athena. Wooden hulk, previously a barque of 426 tons. Burnt at Albany, WA, 13 March 1919. [LW]

Atlantis. Launch. Destroyed by fire near Fremantle, 28 June 1990. [LW]

August Tellefsen. Norwegian barque, wooden vessel, 763 tons. Built 1883. Lbd 160.3 x 35.1 x 18.5 ft. Wrecked against the jetty at Rockingham. There are conflicting stories concerning the stranding and subsequent fate of this vessel. One says she first stranded in 1896 and was probably abandoned in 1898. However, the agent for the Australasian Shipping News at Perth did not report her loss until February 1898. [LW],[LAH]

Australind. Steamship, 1018. Sank the barque Annie Lisle, 20 May 1887. The Australind  had ran on to a sandbank and in getting off collided with the barque, stoving in her bow. [LW]

Avis. Whaler, 291 tons. Reg. New London. Ashore in a gale and totally wrecked in Two People Bay east of Albany, 28 August 1842. No loss off life. [LW],[ASW1 - a London whaler, lost 4 September 1842]
New London is in the USA; London of course is in the UK.

Avon. Fishing vessel. Destroyed by fire off the WA coast, 1960. [LW]

Avon. Small vessel. Driven onto rocks, wrecked, near Carnac Island, near fremantle, WA, 11 February 1833. No loss of life. [ASW1]

Avonita. Fishing boat. Lost during March 1968. Two lives lost. [LW]

Azelia. Schooner, 85 tons. Built  1871. Lbd 84 x 18 x 8.5 ft. Wrecked in Cossack Creek, WA, late 1887.  [LW]

Baltica. Small craft. Sunk near Cervantes, WA, 18 January 1970. [LW]

Bambra. Steam ship. Ran down and sank schooner Moana, 17 August 1920. [LW]

Banana. Lugger, 9 tons. Built 1883; reg. Fremantle. Wrecked, Dobbo to Re Islands, June 1894. [ASR]

Banangara. Pearling schooner. Wrecked ashore in cyclone, Mangrove Islands near the Fortescue River, WA, 7 February 1881. [LW]

Baningara. Cutter, 16 tons. Lost near the Fortescue River, WA, January 1881. [LW]

Bat. Schooner, 8 tons. Wrecked near Cossack, WA, 1919. [LW]

Batavia Road. Fishing vessel, 60 tons. Wrecked north of Geraldton, 15 September 1974. [LW]

Bathurst. British brig. 170 tons. Replaced the cutter Mermaid in 1822. Commanded by Phillip Parker King. Undertook coastal surveys to the west coast of Australia. [HH2],[HH1]

Batoe Bassi. Barque, 325 tons. Built 1864. Lbd 115.5 x 24.8 x 13.5 ft. Deliberately run ashore in a sinking condition, Inshore Island, Esperance Bay, WA, 8 June 1880. Crew of 25 landed safely. [LW]

Bay. Schooner, 15 tons. Wrecked near Jurien Bay, WA,  1 January 1910. [LW]

Beagle. HMS. Captain Wickham. Included Charles Darwin in its complement on the world voyage of 1831-1836. Under the command of Captain J.C.Wickham in 1838, discovered King Sound in north-west Australia, and named Darwin after the famous evolutionist. On this voyage they saw the remains of the wrecked Dutch vessel Zeewyk in the Abrolhos islands (which he mistook to be the Batavia), and named the Pelsart Group. [HH2],[HH1],[LH]

Beagle. Small craft. Wrecked on Cape Inscription, 1904. [LW]

Bee. Schooner. Lost north of Bunbury, May 1851. No lives lost. [LW]
Belinda. Brig, 160 tons. Built Yarmouth, England 1819. Arrived Sydney from London via Hobart  23 February 1824. Captain Thomas Coverdale. Wrecked on Middle Island in the Recherche Archipelago, WA, 19 July 1824. She was heading for the sealing grounds off the southern coastline. After an unsuccessful attempt to reach Sydney in her two boats, one of which was swamped, the crew were rescued by the sealing brig Nereus on 8 December and eventually landed in Sydney. [LW],[ASW1]

Belle of Bunbury. Schooner, 42 tons. Built Bunbury 1877. Lbd  54.9 x 16.9 x 7.2 ft. Sank near Cape Bouvard, WA, after striking a submerged rock off Penguin Island, south of Garden Island, 1886. Apparently she continued her voyage after first striking the rock and was more than 80 nautical miles south before she sank. [LW],[LAH]

Benan. Barque, 1416 tons. Built Glasgow 1875. Lbd 242.6 x 36.8 x 22.2 ft. Wrecked on  a reef off Point Cloates, WA,  23 December 1888. The crew reached safety and were taken on to Carnarvon in the schooner Gipsy. [LW]

Benghazi. Fishing boat. Lost near Dongarra, WA, 17 September 1957. [LW]

Berteaux. Barque. Caught fire while lying at Browse Island, WA,  waiting to load guano, 12 November 185. The crew got clear in the boats and after setting out for Darwin were picked up by the schooner Pearl. [LW]

Beryl Joyce. Fishing boat. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 26 June 1957. [LW]

Beryl. Fishing boat. Lost near Point Moore, WA, 17 September 1958. [LW]

Bessie. Lugger, 30 tons. Lost in a cyclone off Cossack. [LW]

Bessie. Schooner, 27 tons. Lost on reef between Port Hedland and Condon, WA,  27 August 1907. [LW]

Bethwyn. Small craft. Burnt near Yanchep, WA, 27 April 1970. [LW]

Betty May. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Destroyed by an explosion at Fremantle, 12 April 1963. [LW]

Betty. Mission lugger. Capsized in Beagle Bay, WA, May 1928. All three missionaries and thirteen natives on board swam to safety. [LW]

Betty Robin. Fishing Boat. Lost near Geraldton, 30 October 1957. [LW]

Black Eyed Susan. Steam launch. Lost near Fremantle after a collision,  28 December 1908. [LW]

Black Swan. Cutter, 18 tons. Ran on to the bar and lost when leaving the Murray River, WA,  early May 1851. [LW]

Blanche. Schooner, 15 tons. Loaded with pearl shell when she foundered near Cape Bussett, WA, 19 May 1917. [LW]

Blossom. Pearling vessel. Wrecked and partly burnt in Trubridge Creek near the entrance to Exmouth Gulf, WA, Christmas Eve, 1875. Her crew of six Malays were swept away and lost. [LW]

Blossom. Small vessel. Lost between Port Gregory and Roebourne, WA, 1876. [LW]

Blue Dolphin. Fishing vessel. Destroyed by fire off the WA coast, 7 August 1973. [LW]

Blue Wave. Fishing boat. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 15 October 1957. [LW]

Boa Force. Twin screw tug, 498 tonnes. Built as Tiwaz under Swedish Registry in 1978, became Scan Force in 1987, Bob in 1990 and Boa Force in 1992. At the time of her loss she was registered in Tonsberg, Norway. Lbd 43.5 x 12.2 x 6 metres. Struck the ‘Saladin 3' wellhead off Thevenard Island, WA, and sank, 25 February 1994. She was declared a constructive total loss and a wreck removal contract was awarded; slings were passed under the wreck and she was lifted her clear of the wellhead, then moved her about 75 metres to the north east on 29 March. After a hull patch had been fitted, the tug was towed away from the island and scuttled in 5000 metres,  290 nautical miles north of Barrow Island, WA, 7 April 1994. [LW]

Bolero. Fishing vessel.  Lost at Quinn’s Rocks, WA, 4 April 1961. [LW]

Bonnie Dundee. Wrecked in a cylone, Roebourne, WA, 20 March 1872.  [LW]

Boreas. Lugger, 9 tons. Foundered off the north eastern tip of Weld Island, WA, 4 May 1932. [LW]

Botany Trinity. Tanker, 3,384 tonnes. Broke down when about 100 nautical miles south west of Albany, 4  September 1993. Towed to Albany by the tug Wambiri, and then on to Fremantle.  [LW]

Boveric. Steamer, 4445 tons. built 1906. Left Sydney for Durban in May 1902 with 965 horses, but lost her propeller in bad weather in the Indian Ocean and began to drift. The chief officer and three of the crew volunteered to take one of the boats and sail to Fremantle for assistance. They covered almost 1000 nautical miles in 26 days before being picked up by S.S. Willyama only about ten nautical miles from Fremantle. Meanwhile, after forty days adrift, the Boveric was been sighted and taken in tow by the steamer Narrung, on her way to London. Both vessels reached Fremantle on 15 May, the Boveric was repaired and resumed her voyage, landing her consignment of horses with the loss of only fifty-two. [LW],[DG]

Brandivino. Fishing boat. Lost near Lancelin, WA, 24 March 1966. [LW]

Bridgewater. Liberian tanker, steel vessel, 7969 tons. Built as the Daghild in 1931. Lbd 467 x 62 x 27.8 feet. From the Persian Gulf to Lyttleton, New Zealand, with crude oil broke in two in rough seas in the Indian Ocean, 30 January 1962. The master and six of the crew were rescued from the bow section about 200 nautical miles west of Fremantle, and others from the stern which was then about 12 nautical miles further away. The tug Yuna took the stern section in tow and arrived at Fremantle on 21 February, while the bow was last seen about 600 nautical miles west of Carnarvon. The following year the stern was sold to Hong Kong interests for demolition. [LW]

Britannia. Lost off Point Gregory, WA, 1933. [LW]

Brondeg. Lugger, 11 tons. Lost at Port Hedland, 1934. [LW]

Bronlas. Schooner, 11 tons. Wrecked near Fremantle, September 1933. [LW]

Bronlon. Schooner, 14, Fremantle, 1911. Wrecked, reg closed 1934. [ASR]

Brothers. Cutter, 16 tons. Left Bunbury for Roebourne, WA, on 19 February 1867, but was not seen again. [LW]

Brothers. Schooner, 48 tons. Built 1876. Left Esperance on 12 July 1878 and was not seen again. [LW]

Brouslow. Hulk, 17 tons. Foundered off the WA coast, 3 June 1933. [LW]

Bullarra. Steamship. Owned by Adelaide Steamship Company. Battered by a cyclone out of Port hedland, Western Australia, in March 1912, but managed to survive after severe damage and loss of livestock. The same cyclone claimed the streamship Koombana.  [HH2]

Bulletin. Lugger. Collided with the schooner Celtin near Amphinome Shoals, WA, 22 November 1917. The Celtic sank but Bulletin survived.   [LW]

Bullfinch. An unregistered cutter of 13 tons. Foundered off Fremantle, 13 July 1912. One life lost. [LW]

Bungaree. Schooner, 89 tons. Built Jervis Bay 1866. Lbd 84.6 x 19.5 x 8.2 ft. Struck a reef near Sisters Rocks on the southern side of Wainboro Sound, WA, 13 June 1876. All crew saved. [LW]

Bunyip. Cutter. Ashore and lost in a gale, Twilight Cove near Eucla, WA, 24 May 1877. [LW]

Cambewarra. Small steamer. Lost south of Dongarra, Wam 1914. [LW]

Cambria. Wooden steamer, 86 tons. Built at Emu Bay, Tasmania 1885. Lbd 85.7 x 18 x 7.1 ft. Struck a rock and settled down in shallow water with her funnel and mast partly above water, total loss, Rockingahm, 5 March 1900 [LW]

Canning. Barge. Lost at Fremantle,  early November 1878. [LW]

Carbet Castle. (Carbot Castle). Iron ship, 1657 tons. Built Sunderland 1875. Lbd 248.4 x 38.1 x 22.9 ft. From Wales, had unloaded portion of her cargo of railway iron at Bunbury, Western Australia, wrecked ashore in a gale, 14 May 1897. [LW],[ASW6],[LAH - 14 April 1897]

Carib. Whaler. An unidentified wreck was reported in 1976 near the abandoned Eyre Telegraph Repeater Station, reinforcing Aboriginal legend that a vessel had been wrecked around the 1840s. The vessel could be linked with the loss of the whaler Carib, supposedly wrecked on this barren coastline in May 1837.  [LAH]

Carina. Fishing vessel. Lost at Fremantle, 17 September 1962. [LW]

Carlisle Castle. Iron barque, 1484 tons. Built  London, 1868. Lbd 229.8 x 37.8 x 22.8 ft. From Glasgow for Australia with general cargo, wrecked in a gale on Coventry Reef whilst approaching Fremantle, 12 July 1899. First indication that the ship had been lost came when lifebuoys and two damaged boats carrying her name were washed up near Rockingham. No bodies were recovered but the death toll was eventually confirmed at twenty-two. (See also City of York wrecked at the same time).
[LW],[ASW6 - lbd 202.4 x 33.8 x 21.8 ft.]
@ The wrecksite is in ten metres on Five Fathom Bank about 7 km west of Penguin Island, in Shoalwater Bay. Whisky bottles and ballast bricks serve to define the site. [LAH]

Carlton. British barque, 742 tons. Built 1870. Lost in a cyclone, Browse island, WA, 1878. [LW]

Carnarvon Castle. Steel ship, 1719 tons. Built at Glasgow as the Red Rock in 1894. Rock Line. Lbd 249.8 x 37.7 x 22.6 ft. From Liverpool to Melbourne, the ship was abandoned on fire in the Indian Ocean about 800 nautical miles south west of Cape Leeuwin, WA, 31 January 1907. Her crew left in two boats and landed at Fremantle 24 days later. Two men had died in the boats from their privations and a third died soon after landing. [LW],[ASW6],[LAH]

Carrie, Schooner, 6 tons. Lost of the WA coast, 1887. [LW]

Castanet. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast, 25 September 1965. [LW]

Cathy Jo. Crayfishing boat. Disappeared 250 nautical miles north of Fremantle, mid February 1964. Three men aboard. Portion of her stern was found off Deyers Island, WA,  in August. [LW]

Cebu Sampaguita. Filipino bulk carrier. Disabled by an explosion off the Western Australian coast late  June, 1992. In high seas, the tug Wambiri secured a tow line and she was later assisted by the tug Wyola and a helicopter as the stricken vessel was towed to Fremantle. [LW]

Celtic. Schooner, 15 tons. Sank after colliding with the lugger Bulletin near Amphinome Shoals, WA, 22 November 1917.   [LW]

Centaur. Iron brig, 188 tons. Built Aberdeen 1849. Lbd  99.4 x 21.1 x 12.8 ft.  Ran on to a reef known as Little Island about eighteen nautical miles from Fremantle, December 1874. All saved. [LW],[LAH]

Cervantes. American whaling barque, 231 tons. Reg. New London, USA. Lbd 97.8 x 26.3 x 12.3 ft. Built as a brig, and registered at Bath, Maine in 1836; converted to a barque in 1841. Ashore in a gale and lost Jurien Bay, WA, 30 June 1844.  [LW]
@ Wrecksite found in 1970 on a snady bottom in only two metres. [LAH]

Chalmers. British barque, 606 tons. Built 1851. Lbd 132.3 x 30 x 20.5 ft.  Struck on Murray Reef south of Garden Island, WA, and became a total wreck, 19 March 1874. [LW]
@ The wreck was located in 1975. [LAH]

Chalmers. Launch. Scuttled, 1975. She was suspected of drug running. [LW]

Champion. Involved in rescue - see vessel Wave, wrecked Albany, WA, 4 July 1848. [ASW1]

Champion. Schooner. Wrecked in a cyclone between Port Walcott and Depuch Island, December 1870. [LW]

Chance. Schooner, 29 tons. Ashore and wrecked in Albany, 1843. [LW]

Charity. Lugger, 10, Sydney, 1887. Foundered coast WA, April 1887. [ASR]

Charles Fox Bennett. Wooden sailing vessel (possibly a barque), 127 tons. Captain Burns. Struck sunken rocks about two nautical miles from Cape Leeuwin, and one nautical mile from shore, 18 November 1853. Squalls accompanied by thunder and lightning set in and the ship was battered by a rising sea, forcing the fifteen passengers and ten crew to abandon her. The following night more heavy seas carried her off the rocks into a deep hole where she filled and sank. A wreck found in 1980 may be this vessel. [LW]

Charles. Lugger, 12 tons. Lost at Baldwin’s Creek, 3 October 1897. [LW]

Charm. Small craft. Lost at Carnarvon, WA, 21 April 1971. [LW]

Chaser. Ketch. Ashore, probably near Fremantle, 1830. [LW]

Chaudier. Wooden three masted barque, 470 tons. Built Sunderland 1863. Lbd 135.2 x 29.1 x 18.6 ft. Wrecked ashore whilst loading timber at Port Hamelin, WA, 7 July 1883.
[LW],[LAH]

Cheyne. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost off WA coast, 21 December 1963. [LW]

Chip. Capsized in a cyclone Forestier Island near Cossack, north west coast, WA, 1878. One life lost. [LW]

Chloe. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast, 20 March 1960. [LW]

Chofuku Maru. Steel steamer, 5825 tons. Built Kobe 1918. Lbd 384 x 51 x 36 ft. Struck a reef and abandoned near Point Cloates, 18 February 1931. While on passage in ballast from Nanking to Fremantle, the Shunsei Maru struck a reef near Point Cloates; the Chofuku Maru, from Fremantle to Shanghai, went to her assistance but struck another reef and was so badly damaged that eighteen of her crew were immediately transferred to the Shunsei Maru, then moved ashore to a whaling station several kilometres to the south. The Shunsei Maru was eventually refloated. [LW],[LAH - 4498 tons, built Glasgow, 1908, also caught fire]

Cingalee. Iron barque, 339 tons. Built Dundee 1872; reg. Fremantle. Lbd 131.6 x 26.1 x 14.7 ft. Ashore at Bunbury, 20 June 1887. She was dismantled when it became apparent that she could not be refloated. [LW],[HH2],[LAH],[ASR]
In February 1877, under Captain Anton, driven ashore in a storm at the Lacepede Islands, WA; refloated, repaired and re-registered at Fremantle in 1878.

Citizen of London. Schooner, 53 tons. Built 1878. Lbd 57 x 18.6 x 8.5 ft. Stranded and lost at Bunbury, 20 August 1880. [LW]

Claudius. Auxiliary ketch, requisitioned by the R.A.N.. Lost at Scarborough, WA, during a storm, 30 June 1942. Five lives lost. [LW]

Cock of The North. Small craft. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 1907. [LW]

Coimbatore. Iron barque, 1205 tons. Built Glasgow 1865. Lbd 215.8 x 35.1 x 22.5 ft. Foundered after collision with the 1525 ton barque Zinita about 200 nautical miles W.S.W. of Cape Leeuwin, WA,  25 December 1905. There was only one survivor; he jumped on to the Zinita at the moment of impact. [LW]
It begs the question - how could this happen on an open sea. Was it significant that it occurred on Christmas Day?

Colliar. Schooner, 64 tons. Wrecked off WA coast, 2 April 1963. [LW]

Collier. Fishing boat, 43 tons. Lost near Point Sampson, WA, in a cyclone, 2-3 April 1966. [LW]

Comet. Vessel of 29 tons. Built  Fremantle 1884. Lbd 63.8 x 13.5 x 4.5 ft.  Apparently foundered during gales between Bunbury and Fremantle, on or about 11 September 1893. Her boat, bowsprit, mast and other pieces of wreckage were picked up on the beach about 30 kilometres from Mandurah. [LW],[ASR]

Commanche. Fishing vessel. Ashore near Flat Rocks, WA,  10 September 1973. [LW]

Concordia. Iron barque, 1308 tons. Built at Vegesack, Germany 1890. Lbd 222.4 x 34 x 20.4 ft. Forced ashore in a cyclone off Balla Balla, Depuch Island, WA, 20 March 1912. (Same cyclone caused the loss of the steamer Koombana). When the winds abated she was high and dry and the crew were able to clamber ashore. She was later refloated and towed to Fremantle but never returned to service, finishing her days as a coal hulk. [LW]

Contest. Barque, 322 tons. Built Nova Scotia 1860. Lbd 120 x 28.1 x 12.8 ft. Ashore in  a gale and abandoned, Rockingham, WA, 16 June 1874.  [LW]

Coquette. Pearling lugger, approx 20 tons. Wrecked in cyclone, Roebourne, WA, 1870. [LW]

Countess. Wooden paddle steamer, 35 tons. Built 1897. Converted into a lighter, then foundered between Geraldton and Point Cloates, WA,  September 1929. [LW]

Countess. Barque. Reported lost near Geraldton, 15 October 1925. She was being towed to Point Cloates by the whaler Fyna. [LW]

Crown of England. Norwegian, iron ship, 1847 tons. Built Workington 1883. Lbd 267 x 39.1 x 23.6 ft. Lost in a cyclone off Balla Balla, Depuch Island, WA, 20 March 1912. (The same cyclone caused the loss of the steamer Koombana).  She was swept on to a reef off the island where huge seas soon battered her to pieces with the loss of eight lives. [LW]

Crest of the Wave. Pearling lugger, approx 20 tons. Disappeared in a cyclone from her anchorage in Butcher's Inlet, Roebourne, WA, 1870. Two crew lost. [LW]

Csk Everest. Filipino bulk carrier, 77273 tonnes. Ashore while leaving Port Hedland, 10 July 1993. Repairs took several weeks, then she left for Japan on 10 August escorted by the Chinese salvage tug De Yi. [LW]

Cumberland. Cutter, 16 tons. Captain James McDermott. From Fremantle to Augusta, WA, apparently wrecked in a gale near Point Peron, WA, August 1834. All hands lost. Her fate remained a mystery until several men were arrested and faced ‘wrecking’ charges; they had apparently discovered the wreck while fishing and had large quantities of cargo and parts from the vessel in their possession when arrested. [LW],[ASW1]

Cumberland. Ship, 444 tons. Ran on to a sandbank near Cape Hamelin, WA, abandoned, broke up, 1829.  [LW]

Cumberland. American whaler. Wrecked in vicinity of Cape Leeuwin, WA, 6 March 1830. [ASW1]

Cutty Sark. Wooden schooner, 52 tons. Ashore and destroyed in a cyclone, Rest Creek Bay, WA, 14 March 1907. [LW]

Cygne Noir. Vessel of 16 tons. Destroyed by fire at Cervantes, WA, 28 March 1966. [LW]

D.9 Suction dredge. Sank in Cockburn Sound, WA, during a storm, 1962. [LW]

Dairy Maid. Schooner, 31, Sydney, 1867. Foundered coast WA, April 1887. [ASR]

Daisy. Barge. Sunk through neglect about 1920. Her remains lie on the bank opposite the Maylands shipyards, Perth, WA. [LH]

Darius. Steel steamer, 3295 tons. See Kwinana.

Dato. Wooden brig, 200 tons. Lost southern end of Careening Bay, WA, 1893. [LW]

Dawn. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast, 2 June 1960. [LW]

Day Dawn. Wooden barque, 355 tons. Built Fairhaven, USA, 1851 as the Thomas Nye; reg Adelaide. Lbd 121 x 28.3 x 14.4 ft. Operated as a whaler before being sold to Australian interests in 1864. Was loading sleepers when wrecked ashore in a gale at Quindalup, WA, 15 July 1886. [LW]
@ The wrecksite was discovered in in 1975 off Garden Island in only two metres, during the construction of a new berth. Under direction from the WA Museum, her remains were moved to a safe location to aallow dredging to continue, and surveyed. [LAH]

De Geelvinck. Frigate. Dutch vessel. Sailed in company with De Nijptang and Weseltje under Willem de Vlamingh to search for the missing Dutch East Indiaman from Cape Town to Batavia, sailing from Holland in May 1696. After calling in to Tristan d’Acunha, St. Paul Island and Amsterdam Island, made the coast of Australia on 29 December without sight of anything resembling the lost Indiaman. However, as this was also an expedition of discovery, all was not lost, with Vlamingh disciovering Swan River, charted Rottnest island, then mapping and exploring the Western Australian coast as far as Exmouth Gulf. [ASW1]

De Nijptang. Hooker. Dutch vessel. See entry under De Geelvinck.

Deb-a-del. Fishing vessel. Lost near Cervantes, WA,  10 July 1975. [LW]

Dee. Iron barque, 1169 tons. Built 1885. Lbd 215.2 x 35.1 x 21.2 ft. Captured by the German raider Wolf on 30 March 1918 when about 400 nautical miles west of Cape Leeuwin, WA, during a voyage from Mauritius to Bunbury in ballast. After disembarking the crew the Germans sank her using timed explosives. [LW]

Defiance. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast, 1960. [LW]

Der Ridderschap van Holland. Dutch East Indiaman. Went missing in 1684 or 1685 between Cape of Good hope and Batavia, and may have been wrecked on the western coastline of Australia. The Dutch ships De Geelvinck, De Nijptang and Weseltje, under Willem de Vlamingh, undertook a search in 1696, without success in finding the Indiaman, but chaartered much of the western coastline of Australia. (See entry under De Geelvinck).  [ASW1],[LAH]
Bateson adds: This, the loss of Der Ridderschap van Holland on the western Australian coastline, has been neither proved nor disproved.

Derby. Ketch, 46 tons. Lost at Cossack Creek, WA, 1894. [LW]

Dev-Te-Guie. Fishing boat. Lost off the WA coast, 11 February 1965. [LW]

Devonshire. Two-masted schooner, wood, 15 tons. Built Sydney 1839; reg. Sydney 100/1841. Lbd 35.2 x 10.6 x 5.4 ft. Master John Wedge. Foundered soon after departing Fremantle for Leschenault, 30 May 1842, presumed near Garden Island. Bodies and personal effects washed ashore over the next week or so to confirm her loss. [LW],[ASW1]

Diana. Three masted wooden barque, 223 tons. Built Teignmouth, Devon, England,  1860. Lbd  110.2 x 23.5 x 18.1 ft. Wrecked on the beach in a gale, Owen’s Anchorage, Fremantle, 16 July 1878. [LW],[LAH]

Diana. Small craft. Lost near Cervantes, WA,  21 March 1970. [LW]

Dickie. Schooner, 32 tons. Built 1906. Lbd 52 x 16 x 4.9 feet. Wrecked at Jones’ Island, WA, 28 August 1912. [LW]

Dimboola. Sank hulk Tamerlane in collision, 23 September 1918. [LW]

Dolphin. Cutter, 24 tons. Foundered off Beadon, WA,  14 June 1902. [LW]

Dolphin. Lighter. Probably abandoned at Bunbury, WA, 1904. [LW]

Dolphin. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast, 7 October 1960. [LW]

Don Clarence. Schooner, 13 tons. Wrecked at Bedout Island, WA, 26 May 1907. [LW]

Don Francisco. Portuguese slave ship. See James Matthews. [LW]

Don Joseph. Lugger, 13 tons. Wrecked about 11 kilometres north of Point Cloates, WA,   20 April 1899.  [LW]

Dona Elsie. Schooner, 14, Fremantle, 1900. Lost in cycline 27 March 1935. [ASR]

Doreen. Yacht. Lost off WA coast, 6 June 1931. [LW]

Dorree. Unregistered cutter. Wrecked near Carnarvon, WA,  2 December 1908. [LW]

Duchess of Kent. Wooden ketch, 61 tons. Built 1875; reg. Fremantle. Lbd 70.2 x 20.2 x 7 ft. Wrecked on Cervantes Island south of Geraldton, 28 August 1895. [LW],[ASR]

Dunskey. Steamer, 50 tons. Parted her cables in Nornalup Inlet, WA, during a squall, ashore, 10 March 1917. [LW]

Dunster Castle. Steel vessel of 155 tons. Built 1909. Lbd 95 x 20.1 x 7.6 ft. Deliberately run ashore when endangered by a fierce gale in Fanny Cove, west of Shoal Cape, WA, 7 July 1916. She resisted several refloating attempts before being abandoned. [LW]

Durdrecht. (Dordrecht). Dutch vessel. Commander Frederick de Houtman. Reputedly the first to sight the Abrolhos islands off the western Australian coast. In company with Amsterdam, crews on the ships and sighted the mainland coast near the present town of Bunbury on 19 July 1619. Sailing north, de Houtman named Rottnest and Houtman Abrolhos. [LW]

Duyfken. Dutch vessel.  Master William Jansz.  In 1604 made the first officially recorded landfall by a European ship on the Australian coastline although it is possible that the Portuguese adventurer Mendonca may have sailed along the northern and eastern coasts  c.1525. [LW]

E.W.S.  Fishing boat. Wrecked near Quobba Point, WA, July 1985. [LW]

Eagle. Schooner. Ashore in a gale Cockburn Sound, WA, late May, early June 1830 during a fierce gale. Refloated. [ASW1]

Eagle. Tug, wooden steamer, 51 tons. Built 1906; reg. Fremantle.  Lbd 67.6 x 15.5 x 7.2 ft. Sank after colliding with a barge at Fremantle, 22 January 1941. [LW],[ASR]

Eclipse. Wooden schooner, 23 tons. Lost when a cyclone swept across Exmouth Gulf on 14 March 1907.

Eddystone. Iron steamer, 2040 tons. Built 1886. Lbd 275 x 36 x 20 ft. Struck a reef at Depuch Island, about 50 km from Cossack, WA, 8 September 1894.The engine room and forehold filled rapidly and as the vessel lay partly submerged, three pumps and diving gear were sent to the wreck, however before they arrived the steamer floated free but the tide swept her back on to the reef again about two hundred metres away. She was auctioned as is and dismantled.  [LW],[DG]

Edith. Lugger, 10 tons. Built 1883; reg. Sydney. Foundered off WA coast, April 1887. [ASR]

Edith. Schooner. Wrecked near Condon, WA, 1906. [LW]

Edith. Wooden barge. Wrecked near Condon Creek, WA, during April or May 1907. [LW]

Edith Matilda. Lugger, 13 tons. Lost at Roebuck Bay, WA, 16 June 1903. [LW]

Eendracht. Dutch vessel. Dirk Hartog. The captain landed on an island that now bears his name off Shark Bay, 25 October 1616. A landing party explored the island, then erected a post and nailed a flattened pewter dinner plate inscribed with details of their visit. The plate remained on the beach for 81 years until another Dutch explorer, Willem de Vlamingh found it lying in the sand where it had fallen from its post and took it to Batavia, after erecting another post with a new pewter plate nailed to it. The original Hartog plate was handed over to the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities in The Hague when the Dutch East India Company closed down in 1799. Today it is part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Vlamingh's plate remained on Dirk Hartog Island until 1801 when the Frenchman Captain Hamelin replaced it on the post from where it had fallen. In 1818 another Frenchman, Captain Louis de Freycinet took it back to Paris where it was presented to the French Academy, then forgotten for more than a century, before being rediscovered in 1945. After its re-discovery in 1945 the plate was presented to the Australian people in 1947, returning to Western Australia in 1950 and housed in the West Australian Museum with the original post. In 1964 the Australian Government commenced negotiations stretching over many years for the return of Hartog’s original plate but were never able to persuade the Dutch to part with it. However, during the Bicentenary the Dutch allowed the now fragile pewter plate to return briefly to Australia for exhibition during 1988-89. [LW],[HH2]
Eglinton. (Eglington). British composite barque, (iron frames planked with oak), 462 tons; reg. London. Built Quebec 1848. Lbd 119.5 x 27.1 x 18.2 ft. Captain Bennett. Struck an offshore reef near North Beach, about 30 km north of Fremantle, night 3 September 1852. On a voyage from London with 51 passengers and crew and a cargo of gold sovereigns, the ship struck so violently that the helmsman was thrown from the wheel and she was soon destroyed by several enormous waves. The first two boats launched were swept away but a third was lowered and successfully carried passengers and crew ashore; the boatswain and one woman passenger lost their lives. Two chests containing 65,000 gold sovereigns remained submerged in the aft hold. When news of the wreck reached the colony a detachment of the 99th Regiment was sent to recover as much as possible. A ticket of leave convict named Thomas Rodriguez dived on the wreck and within two hours brought the specie to the surface. Later he was to receive a reward of £200 from the Lords of the Treasury for his skill and bravery. [LW],[ASW6]
@ The wreck was re-discovered by divers in 1971 and some artefacts from her are displayed at the Fremantle Museum. [LAH]

Egret. Fishing boat. Sank off Dirk Hartog Island, WA, 11 May 1976. [LW]

Eidran. Fishing boat. Sank near Snag Island, WA, 14 May 1968. [LW]

Eleanor. Wooden schooner, 12 tons. Foundered during a gale off the Eighty Mile Beach, WA,  12 May 1914. Two lives lost. [LW]

Electra. Woden schooner, 92 tons. Built Fremantle 1884. Lbd 78.7 x 19.9 x 7.5 ft. Sprang a leak and foundered off Cape Naturaliste, WA, 17 March 1904. No loss of life. [LW]

Elenora. Fishing vessel. Lost west of Port Gregory, WA, 15 November 1929. Two lost of crew of three.  [LW]

Eliza Blanche, hulk. Originally a brig, 170 tons. Built 1861; registered Fremantle. Hulked in 1887. Foundered near Fremantle, January 1889. [LW],[ASR]

Elizabeth. Barque, 194 tons. Built Singapore 1830; reg.. Singapore, reg. Sydney on 10 May 1837. Lbd 77.2 x 20 x 6 ft. Beached, broke up, in a gale just north of Fremantle, on or soon after 21 September 1839. A number of artefacts from this wreck are displayed at the Fremantle Maritime Museum. This same gale saw the loss of the ship Lancieron Straggler Reefs at the aapproaches to the port of Fremantle. [LW],[ASW1],[LAH]

Elizabeth. Lugger. Last seen off the WA coast 26 March 1904. Crew of six lost.  [LW]

Elizabeth. Schooner, 100 tons. Lbd 62 x 18 x 9 ft. Ashore at Bunbury in a gale, 17 November, 1843. [LW]

Ella Gladstone. Brig, 225 tons. Built Durham, England, 1860. Lbd 98.3 x 23.5 x 14.8 ft.
Ashore in a gale, Quindalup, WA, 21 July 1878. She was refloated 15 January 1879 but condemned as unseaworthy. [LW]

Ellen. Cutter. Wrecked on Garden Island, WA, January 1890. One life lost. [LW]

Ellen. Small craft. Foundered near Onslow, WA,  8 February 1905. Five crew lost. [LW]

Ellen Mary. Small craft. Sank near Moore River, WA, 12 August 1971. [LW]

Eloise. Pearling schooner, 33 tons. Built Quindalup, WA, 1876. Lbd 53.7 x 14 x 6 ft. Wrecked ashore in a squall at Coronation Island, WA, 5 January 1892. [LW]

Else. Iron barque, German, 512 tons. Built Sunderland as the Albert William in 1863. Lbd 162.5 x 26 x 17.3 ft. Entered the wrong channel at Hamelin Bay, WA, struck a reef three times, then ran into the breakers and lost, 2 September 1900. [LW]

Elsie. Cutter, 16 tons. Lost on West Forestier Island, WA, 10 November 1907. [LW]
Also listed:
Elsie. Cutter, 16 tons. Lost on Forestier’s Island, WA, 30 October 1908. [LW]

Elsie. Schooner, 15 tons. One of four luggers destroyed and 24 lives lost when a cyclone swept through the Onslow, WA, region 5-6 April 1909.  [LW]

Emeloot. Dutch vessel. Sent out to search for the Vergulde Draeck, lost on the Western Australian coast in 1656. They were unsucessful.  [HH2]

Emilee 11. Fishing vessel. Lost near Dongarra, WA, 12 May 1973. [LW]

Emily. Schooner, 40 tons. Built 1868. Lbd 60.3 x 16.1 x 6.8 ft. Left Port Irwin for Fremantle on 13 June 1868 but was not seen again. Fears that she had been lost in a gale were confirmed when pieces from her were found on the beach near Fremantle. Crew of four lost. [LW]

Emily Taylor. Brig, 207 tons. Aground in Cockburn Sound, WA, in a gale, 21 May 1830. Refloated.  [LW],[ASW1 - 300 tons, ashore last week of May or early June]

Emlyn Castle. Wooden auxiliary ketch, 21 tons. Beached after springing a leak near North West Cape, WA, wrecked,  4 November 1960. [LW]

Emma. Two masted wooden schooner, 117 tons. Built 1859. Lbd 85.6 x 20.2 x 11.2 ft. Left Port Walcott for Fremantle on 3 March 1867, with 42 passengers and crew; not seen again. She may have been lost at Bedout Island near the De Grey River, where wreckage had been sighted but not confirmed. An aboriginal crew member of a coastal trader said that the passengers and crew made shore but could not defend themselves from the aborigines, who killed and ate them. The ribs of a vessel were later located lying on the beach between Capes Cloates and Cuvier. Her loss remains one of WA’s maritime mysteries.  [LW]

Emma. Lugger. Foundered off the Western Australian coast, March 1889. [LW]

Emogene. Fishing boat. Lost near Lancelin, WA, 28 August 1966. [LW]

Empire Grassland. Twin screw steam hopper barge, 162 feet long, with a hopper capacity of 670 cubic yards. Lost during a tow from Singapore to Carnarvon, January 1947. She had broken adrift during a storm about 70 nautical miles to the north.  [LW]

Enterprise. Crayfishing boat. Lost near Yanchep, WA, 1956. [LW]

Era. Fishing boat, 44 tons. Sunk in Shark Bay, WA, 14 May 1958. [LW]

Era. Fishing steamer. Lost at Geraldton, WA, during a storm, 18 July 1928. [LW]

Ernie. Schooner, 8 tons. Lost in Raffles Bay, WA, December 1915. [LW]

Escort. Iron steam tug, 28 tons. Lost at Mornalup Inlet, WA, 18 October 1903. [LW]

Escort. Steam tug. Lost at Nornalup, WA, 1912. [LW]

Esta. Ketch, 13 tons. Wrecked near Gautheame Point, WA, 10 February 1920. [LW]

Estrellita. Fishing boat. Wrecked on Yanchep Reef, WA, 18 May 1953. [LW]

Ethel. Cutter,  14 tons. Lost off the WA coast,  August 1892. [LW]

Ettie. Ketch 44 tons. Wrecked while entering Esperance Bay, WA, 10 September 1896. Two drowned. [LW]

Eureka 11. Wooden fishing trawler, 48 tons. Built Fremantle 1946. Lost after striking a reef off Beagle Island, WA, 3 February 1977. [LW]

Euro. Steamer. Collided with, and sank the lighter Gareenup, Fremantle, 21 August 1923. [LW]

Europa. Three masted iron barque, 800 tons. Built 1869. Lbd 187.6 x 30.8 x 19 ft. Lleft Glasgow for Fremantle on 11 October 1896; wrecked on to a reef at Jurien Bay, north of Perth, WA, 10 January 1897. [LW],[ASW6]

Eva. Cutter, 41 tons. Reg. Fremantle . Wrecked near Cape Leeuwin, WA, November, 1895. [ASR]

Eva. Lighter. Lost at the entrance to Cossack Creek, WA, 9 April 1936. [LW]

F.B. Brindisi. Fishing vessel. Lost near Cervantes, WA, 25 January, 1961. [LW]

Fairy Queen. Wooden schooner, 115 tons. Built at Singapore and originally named Rhio. Wrecked in a gale near North West Cape, 8 October 1875. Relics recovered include a small cannon, anchors and ballast bricks. [LW],[LAH]

Faith. Vessel of 10 tons. Believed to have been lost off the WA coast, April 1887. [LW],[ASR]

Falcon. Pearling lugger. Wrecked on rocks at Hunt Point at the eastern end of Finucone Island at the entrance to Port Hedland, WA,  during a gale, 11 March 1892. [LW]

Fanny. Vessel type not recorded. Considerably damaged by fire in the Swan River, 16 July 1832. [ASW1]

Favourite. Schooner, 46 tons. Built Bunbury 1856. Wrecked on a reef in Gold Digger Passage, WA, 24 November 1867. [LW]

Fin (Fynd). Steel whale chaser.  Lbd 104 x 20.2 x 11.8 ft. Lost near Point Cloates, WA, during a cyclone, 12 January 1923.   Portion of this wreck, including a boiler, is sometimes visible at low tide. [LW]

Fitzgerald. Schooner, 24 tons. Struck rocks and foundered when sailing from Garden Island to Fremantle. Crew of four, and three passengers reached safety. [LW]

Flaming Star. Fishing vessel. Destroyed by fire near Lancelin, WA, 6 October 1974. [LW]

Fleetwing. Yacht. Wrecked near Esperance, 1896 [LW]

Florida. Schooner, 216 tons. Built 1870. Lbd 112.6 x 25 x 12.4 ft. Ashore at Browse Island, WA, 12 September 1887. [LW]

Flying Dutchman. Fishing boat, 13 tons. Lost off Wedge Island, WA, 20 May 1958. [LW]

Flying Scotchman. Lugger. Destroyed in rough weather at Junction Bay, wa, March 1912. [LW]

Fortescue. Pearling schooner. Wrecked ashore in cyclone, Mangrove Islands near the Fortescue River, WA, 7 February 1881. [LW]

Fortuyn. Dutch East India Company vessel, 280 tons. Built in 1722. Length 145 ft. On her maiden voyage when lost. Commander Pieter Westrik. Left the Cape of Good Hope for Batavia on 18 January 1724 but failed to arrive. She sailed from Texel for Batavia on 27 September 1723 with a crew of 225, and arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on 2 January 1724. She may have come to grief on the western Australian coast, but there has never been any indication of this. . [LW],[HH2],[ASW1]

Francis. Lugger. Possibly lost near Fremantle, 1831. [LW]

Franklin. Iron steamship, 730 tons. Built Glasgow 1880, reg. Adelaide. Lbd 200 x 26.3 x 11.7 ft. Wrecked in Israelite Bay, WA, 18 April 1902. She had struck either a rock or one of the many lost anchors littering the seabed and was badly holed under her boilers. She settled on the bottom and after defying attempts by the tug Euro to move her when pumped out, was destroyed by a heavy sea. [LW],[LAH],[DG]

Freya. Fishing boat. Lost near Lancelin, WA, 29 August 1966. [LW]

G.S.S. Pearling lugger. Lost near Point Cloates, WA, 7 February 1901. [LW]

Gael. French barque, steel, 2198 tons. Built St. Nazaire, France, 1901. Lbd 279.8 x 40.1 x 22.7 ft.  Abandoned in a leaking condition 150 nautical miles off Cape Leeuwin, WA, 21 August 1909. Five days later the entire crew reached safety in two boats. The captain's boat landed near Hamelin Bay, while the second, in charge of the mate was picked up by SS Vigilant off Cape Naturaliste. She had left London for Hobart on 22 May, but after rounding the Cape of Good Hope ran into a series of gales. [LW],[ASW6],[LAH]

Gareenup. Lighter, 68 tons. Collided with S.S. Euro, sank, at Fremantle, 21 August 1923. [LW]

Gazelle. Wooden cutter, 17 tons. Sank at Fremantle, 1913. [LW]

Geelvinck. Dutch vessel. In May 1696, one of three vessels (the others Nijptangh, and Weseltje) under command of Willem de Vlamingh, set out from Holland to search for the missing Ridderschap Van Hollandt, and to make further examinations on the western Australian coastline. Saw an island which they named Mistieland, later to be renamed Rottnest by anothe dutchman. [HH2]

Geffrard. Brig, 316 tons. Built 1853. Lbd 122.8 x 24.1 x 16.5 ft. Ashore in a gale at Quindalup, WA, 12 June 1875.  [LW]

Gem. Cutter, 52 tons. Built Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, 1835. Lbd 65 x 14.5 x 8 ft. Foundered without warning off  Kingston Spit near Fremantle, 13 June 1876. Several vessels hurried to the scene but could find no trace of the crew of six and four passengers. Location known by divers who describe the wreck as a line of encrusted ribs and keel on a sandy bottom in about ten metres of water. [LW],[LAH]

General Gordon. Schooner, 60 tons. Built 1885. Lbd 66 x 19.3 x 7.7 ft. Abandoned off the Western Australian coast after losing her rudder and springing a leak in heavy seas,  20 June 1889. [LW],[ASR]

Genesta. Schooner. Lost near Dorre Island, WA, 13 July 1909. [LW]

Georgette. Coastal steamer, iron screw steamship, 337 tons. Built Dumbarton, Scotland,  1872. Lbd 151.5 x 22.5 x 11.5 ft. Wrecked near the mouth of the Margaret River, WA,   30 November, 1876. She had developed a severe leak after leaving Fremantle with 58 passengers. After several aborted attempts at launching the boats, the women and children were placed in a fourth boat in charge of the mate, and landed safely at Dunsborough. The remaining passengers and crew stayed on the ship as she drifted almost helplessly with sails set and boiler fires extinguished by the rising water. When the Georgette grounded she was seen by young Grace Bussell who was searching for stray cattle on her parent’s property with an Aboriginal boy named Sam Isaacs. Both rode their horses several times through the surf to the side of the steamer and helped people to safety. In 1878 Grace was voted the medal of the Royal Humane Society and was also presented with a gold watch suitably inscribed by the British Government. Sam received the Society’s Bronze Medal. [LW],[LAH]
@ The wreck lies in about five metres about one hundred metres off shore.

Gerinomo. Fishing boat. Lost at Jurien Bay, WA, 6 June 1976. [LW]

Gilt Dragon - see Vergulde Draeck

Gio Batta Repetto. Italian wooden barque, 1301 tons. Built 1883. Lbd 209.6 x 37.1 x 15.6 ft.   Struck the Michaelines Reef out of Albany, WA, 10 March 1899. She returned to port leaking badly at the bow; eventually declared a loss. [LW]

Gladmore. Motor vessel. Destroyed by fire at Fremantle, 17 October 1943. [LW]

Glenbank. Steel barque, 1481 tons. Built Glasgow, 1893. Lbd 240 x 27 x 21.6 ft. Owned by J.A.L. Achiassen & Company of Cronstadt, Russia. Captain Moberg, capsized in cyclone off Depuch Island, WA, 6 February 1911. Only one survivor of a crew of 24, a Finn named Anti Kilata who was aloft when she foundered. He swam about 15 nautical miles supported by a paddle to Legendre Island where he was picked up three days later by the pearler Ranger. [LW],[LAH]

Gnaraloo. Workboat, sank while under tow from Cape Civier to Carnarvon, WA, May 1973. [LW]

Goede Hoop. (Good Hope). Dutch vessel.. Sent out to search for the Vergulde Draeck, lost on the Westrn Australian coast in 1656. They were unsucessful.  [HH2]

Golden Draek. See Vergulde Draeck. Name is incorrectly used in NH.

Golden Dragon. See Vergulde Draeck. Name is incorrectly used in NH.

Governor Endicott. 298 tons. Ashore in gale, Toby’s Inlet, WA, July 1840. [LW]

Governor Musgrave.Steamer. Searched for the missing bucket dredge Posidonia in the Great Australian Bight, without success, 1914. [LAH]

Governor Weld. Cutter, 18 tons. Built 1870; reg. Fremantle. Wrecked Casurina Reef, WA, February 1894. [ASR]

Grace Darling. Schooner, 82 tons. Built 1869 Lbd  83.2 x 20.3 x 8.1 ft. Wrecked off Edward Island, WA, 3 February 1915. [LW]
Also listed:
Grace Darling. Involved in rescue - see steamer Rodondo, lost WA, 1894.  [LAH]

Grazieta. Fishing vessel. Lost near Geraldton, 25 November 1974. [LW]

Greyhound. Brig, 231 tons. Built 1858. Lbd 124.1 x 23.4 x 14 ft. Wrecked ashore in a gale inward bound to Hamelin Bay, WA, 3 October 1884. [LW]

Gudrun. Wooden barquentine, 977 tons. Built Quebec 1880. Deliberately wrecked Shark Bay, WA, August 1901. After leaving Bunbury for Falmouth with a cargo of jarrah early she commenced to leak when about 90 nautical miles out; the crew discovered that the carpenter had deliberately bored a hole through her bottom. The vessel was beached at Peron Flats, Shark Bay, near Carnarvon, but was so badly damaged in a gale in November she was condemned where she lay. [LW]

Guinivere. Cutter. Lost on Ferguson Reefs, Pearson Island, WA,  December 1915. [LW]

Gulden Zeepaard. (Gulden Zeepaerdt). Dutch ship. Master Francois Thijssen. In 1627, sailed too far east before turning north and mad elandfall near present-day ceduna on the eastern edge of the Great Australian Bight, before turning west and followed the coast for about 900 nautical miles till Cape Leeuwin was rounded. On baord was a seniot officer of the dutch V.O.C. named Pieter Nuyts who was on his way to take up the post as the first Dutch ambassador to Japan - hence the name of the islands to the west of ceduna - Nuyts Archipelago. [HH2], [LW]

Gullnair. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast, 2 September 1960. [LW]

Gunga. Steamship, 1257 tons. Built 1864. A.S.N.Co. Converted into a hulk and towed to Fremantle; stranded on beach, 1920. [DG]

Gwendoline. Schooner, 84 tons. Built 1897. Lbd 86 x 23.1 x 7.2 ft. Blown on to Forester Reef, WA,  and abandoned, 10 February 1924. [LW]

Hajduk. Fishing vessel. Lost near Kalbarri, WA, 11 July 1975. [LW]

Halcyon. American whaler, 258 tons. Reg New London. Captain Jeffery. Ashore in a gale on the beach near Toby’s Inlet, WA, 5 August 1844.  The sea was so rough the crew could not get ashore for two days. [LW],[ASW1]

Halifax Packet. Barque. Captain Smith. Ashore on Success bank off Fremantle, WA, in a gale, on the night of 28-29 February 1845. Refloated and sailed for London on 18 September 1845. [ASW1]

Hallgyn. Greek collier. See M.J.Goulandris.  [LW]

Hampton. Wooden cutter, 19 tons. Lost off North West Cape, WA,  18 May 1908. [LW]

Harlequin. Schooner, 138 tons. Ashore in a gale near Cape Chatham, WA, 4 September 1850. Three of the crew were drowned but the survivors, including the captain and his wife reached the shore and walked overland to Albany. The wreck was located in 1969.  [LW],[ASW1]

Harriet. (Harriett). Wooden schooner, 49 tons. Built 1879; reg. Fremantle. Lbd  63.5 x 16 x 7 ft. Lost in a cyclone at Cossack, WA, 2 April 1898. [LW],[ASR]

Harriet Constance. Wooden schooner, 52 tons. Built 1875. Lbd 66.7 x 19 x 7.2 ft. Disappeared at sea after leaving Fortescue for Cossack, WA, early March 1906. Reports of number of lives lost vary from four to ten. [LW]

Harrison. Three-masted wooden schooner, 334 tons. Arrived Fremantle 22 March 1877, loaded with timber and in a sinking condition, having sprung a leak after rounding Cape Leeuwin and changed course for Fremantle where she was condemned and converted into a hulk, 1877. [LW],[LAH]

Hawk. Wooden lugger, 12 tons. tons.Lost when a cyclone swept across Exmouth Gulf on 14 March 1907. [LW]

Heath. Schooner, 13 tons. Lost off WA coast, March 1942. [LW]

Heather. Fishing vessel. Lost near Cervantes, WA, 7 June 1972. [LW]

Hebroyd. Barque, 363 tons. Built 1866; reg. Adelaide. Wrecked Fremantle. [ASR]

Helen 1. Fishing boat. Lost near Lancelin, WA, 18 July 1968. [LW]

Hellenic Star. Fishing boat, 45 tons. Lost near Red Bluff, WA, 31 December 1969. [LW]

Henna. Panamanian freighter. Abandoned when about 300 nautical miles north of Amsterdam Island in the Indian Ocean after her hull fractured in heavy seas, February 1971. She had left Bunbury for Savannah on 23 February with a cargo of ilmanite sand. The crew of 44 Chinese were picked up by the Gladstone Star and landed at Albany. The Henna had been declared unseaworthy when berthed in South Australia but ignored officials and sailed on to Bunbury. [LW],[LAH]

Henry. Barque, 252 tons. Blown ashore near Fremantle shortly after arriving from London but was soon refloated, 1841. She left for Batavia but disappeared after calling at Moulmein in Burma. Authorities believe the damage she suffered while stranded was probably the cause of her foundering. [ASW6]

Henry. Lugger. Wrecked near Cape Voltaire, WA, 1 December 1929. Two members of the crew may have been murdered by Aborigines after reaching the shore. [LW]

Henry Gilbert Costin. American Liberty Ship, 7,176 tons. Built at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, 1943.  Collided with and sank minesweeper-corvette HMAS Wallaroo, 10 June 1943. [LW]

Herald. Schooner, 53, Sydney, 1867. Wrecked Horseshoe reef, WA, dec 1889. [ASR]

Hervang. Freighter. Sliced in two the Japanese tuna boat Nakkai Maru, west of Carnarvon, WA, January 1966. [LW]

Heythrap.  P.& O. oil tanker, 43,330 tonnes.. Built 1967 for Trident Tankers; transferred to the P.& O. Bulk Shipping Division in 1972. Abandoned, caught fire after an explosion on board about 200 nautical miles off the east coast of South Africa, in the Indian Ocean, 9 November 1971. Later the crew reboarded her and extinguished the fire but lost their lifeboat in rough weather. It was presumed to have been swamped and sunk, until discovered intact more than 4000 nautical miles away, drifting in Princess Royal Harbour, Albany, about fifteen months later. [LW]

Highland Forest. Iron barque, 1040 tons Built Leith 1884, reg Glasgow. Lbd 209.6 x 34.2 x 19.7 ft. Captain Chapman. Ashore in calm conditions, wrecked, on Murray Reef, WA, 29 April 1901. while on a voyage from New York to Fremantle. After the crew were taken off by fishing boats she soon broke up. [LW],[LAH]

Hokita. Barque, 283 tons. Built Aberdeen 1871. Lbd 132.5 x 24.9 x 12.3 ft.  Abandoned after striking a rock off Cape Leeuwin. October 1872. The crew landed at Cape Hamelin, spent the night on shore, then rowed around to Busselton, arriving two days later. [LW]

Hope. Schooner, 22 tons. Left Albany for Fremantle during April 1877 but was not seen again. [LW]

Hugh Norman. Lugger, 10 tons. Wrecked near the mouth of the Moore River, WA, 9 November 1910. One life lost. [LW]

Hung Tzang. Taiwanese fishing boat. Capsized 1,600 nautical miles north west of Fremantle, early December 1988. Crew of 17 rescued from a raft by the container ship Fair Eagle. [LW]

Indian. Ketch, 200 tons. Ashore in a gale in Gage Roads or Cockburn sound, WA, late May or early June 1830. Refloated. [ASW1]

Iolanthe. Cutter, 11 tons. Registered  Port Darwin. Lbd  44 x 11 x 4.5 ft. Destroyed in cyclones that battered Cossack and Roeburne, WA, 3 and 4 January 1894. [LW]

Ione. Schooner, 25 tons. Wrecked near Port Gregory, WA, 4 August 1907. [LW]

Irene Castle. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Destroyed by an explosion at Fremantle,  12 April 1963. [LW]

Iris. American whaler. Wrecked at Geographe Bay, WA, December 1850. [ASW1]

J.P. Webb. Steel hopper dredge, 950 tons. Wrecked on a reef near Ledge Point, WA, 22 August 1951. She was on her delivery voyage from Britain to Melbourne.[LW],[ASW6]

Jadran. Small craft. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 24 May 1971. [LW]

James. Brig, 195 ton. Built 1812. After arriving at Swan River, Western Australia from Ireland with 75 passengers and a crew of 12, early in May 1830, ashore on 21 May and never refloated. The remains of this vessel were discovered in 1975 and two small cannon found nearby were believed from her. [LW],[ASW6],[ASW1]
Bateson indicates that the vessel was refloated.

James Matthews. Snow brig, 107 tons. Lbd 80 x 21 x 11.5 ft. Originally the Portuguese slaver Don Francisco; in 1837 was captured by the British with 433 African slaves aboard. From London to freemantle with eighteen passengers and crew, ashore in a gale near Woodmans Point, WA, July 1841. One life lost.The remains were located in 1973 and extensively excavated by the Western Australian Museum, when a good collection of pioneer farming equipment was recovered. [LW],[ASW6],[ASW1]

James Service. Iron barque, 455 tons. Built 1869. Lbd 153 x 28 x 15 ft. Wrecked on Murray Reef near Mandurah, WA, July 1878. As the James Service was on a voyage from Calcutta to Melbourne via Adelaide, it has been assumed that heavy damage at sea caused by the gales had probably forced the captain to beat north to Fremantle for repairs. The captain’s health had caused concern following an inquiry into his handling of the vessel while she was becalmed in the Bay of Bengal, and Captain Sievwright, who was in charge when she was lost had been engaged to take the barque on to Melbourne. [LW]
@ The hull, rediscovered in 1962, lies on its port side in about six metres of water with parts of the masts nearby. The bow has gone but the stern is intact.  [LAH]

Janet. Schooner. Left Fremantle for Derby, WA, on 16 June 1886 but failed to arrive. [LW]

Jarrahdole. Crayfish freezing vessel. Swamped and sank in heavy seas north of Fremantle,  28 January 1950. She was under tow. [LW]

Jedda. Fishing ketch, 30 tons. Lost near Beagle Island, WA, 8 December 1973. [LW]

Jenny. Fishing vessel. Lost at Rat Island, WA, 8 August 1962. [LW]

Jenny Lynne. Small craft. Lost near Lancelin, WA, 1 September 1970. [LW]

Jessie. Schooner, 12 tons. Lost in Jurien Bay, WA, 1940. [LW]

Jessie Lee. Small craft. Sunk near Garden Island, WA, 3 February 1970. [LW]

Jimar. Fishing boat. Lost off WA coast, 1961. [LW]

Jimmy. Schooner, 24 tons. Wrecked on reef near Cape Bossut, WA, 4 May 1918. [LW]

Joan. Schooner. Foundered while at anchor in Roebuck Bay, WA, 19 December 1910. Two lives lost.  [LW]

John 11. Lugger. Lost at Cossack Creek, WA, 1894. [LW]

John S. Lane. Schooner, 82, Fremantle, 1872. Wrecked Ninety Mile beach, WA, April 1887. [ASR]

Jonwin. Small craft. Lost near Escape Island, WA, 1 August 1970. [LW]

Judith Anne. Fishing vessel. Lost near Dongarra, WA, 10 January 1972. [LW]

Julia. Vessel of 21 ton. Destroyed during a cyclone, Condon Creek, WA, 24 November 1892. [LW]

Julian. Fishing boat. Lost near Dongarra, WA, 17 September 1957. [LW]

Juliana. Fishing vessel. Lost near Lancelin, WA, 28 June 1961. [LW]

Julianna. Fishing vessel. Wrecked near Ledge Point, WA, 29 May 1962. [LW]

Julius. Schooner, 62 tons.  Built 1879. Lbd 75.8 x 19 x 7.1 ft. Foundered on the Ninety Mile Beach, WA, May 1892. [LW]

Junee. Fishing boat. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 4 February 1968. [LW]

Jupiter. Fishing boat. Left Fremantle on 29 May 1931 and disappeared. Crew of three. [LW]

K-8. Dutch submarine. Escaped to Western Australia when the Japanese invaded Indonesia in 1942. Considered too old for further service, she was beached and scrapped at Jervoise bay, WA. [LH]

Kapala. Harbour vessel. Lost in Exmouth Gulf, WA, 1 May 1964. [LW]

Kareen. Fishing trawler. Disappeared off the WA coast, March 1966. Four on board. A dinghy and an uninflated life raft believed from her were later recovered. [LW]

Kate. Ketch. Lost near Onslow. [LW]

Kate Florence. Wooden lugger, 12 tons.  Lost when a cyclone swept across Exmouth Gulf on 14 March 1907. [LW]

Kathy Sue. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost at Jurien Bay, WA, 23 November 1963. [LW]

Katinka. Iron vessel, 843 tons. Built Port Glasgow 1874. Lbd 196.4 x 32.2 x 18.8 ft. Wrecked ashore in a gale, Hamelin Bay,  22 July 1900. Five lives lost.  [LW]

Kebroyd. Hulk, initially a  barque, 363 tons.  Built 1866; reg. Adelaide. Lbd 120.2 x 27.8 x 17 feet. Ashore, later abandoned, Fremantle, May 1890. [LW],[ASR]

Kelana. Yacht. Foundered off the WA coast, about 20 October 1986. The crew were rescued by a Japanese fishing boat. [LW]

Kellie. Fishing vessel. Wrecked near Green Island, WA,  17 July 1973. [LW]

Kepler. Wooden steamer, 64 tons.  Built Melbourne 1886. Lbd 91 x 18.3 x 5.8 ft. Sank at her moorings in Hopetoun Harbour, 8 August 1910. Abandoned. [LW]

Kerry Lee. Fishing vessel. Wrecked off the WA coast, 15 December 1962. Two lives lost .
Cepheus. Fishing vessel. Lost near Fremantle, 21 December 1962. [LW]

Key Biscayne.  Drilling rig, 6000 ton. Sank off Ledge Point, WA, September 1983. She was under tow from Darwin to Fremantle. The 42 member drilling crew was rescued by helicopter after the rig commenced to founder in heavy seas. [LW]

Kia Ora. Fishing vessel. Lost near Lancelin, WA, 7 April 1965.  [LW]

Kia-ora. Fishing schooner. Struck a reef about 65 kilometres north of Geraldton, WA, and broke her back, 25 April 1939. Crew of four rescued. [LW]

Kiama. Fishing vessel. Lost at Cervantes, WA, 7 November 1960. [LW]

Kimberley. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast on 19 March 1962. [LW]

Kingfisher. Hulk; originally a brig of 164 tons, built in 1854. Wrecked ashore at Albany during a gale early in May, 1883. [LW]

Kirki.  Tanker, 97,000 tonne. Under  Greek flag. Lost its bow in steep seas, spilling 23 million litres of burning oil into the Indian Ocean barely 20 nautical miles off Cervantes, WA. [LW]

Kitty Coburn. Barque, 405 tons. Built 1865. Lbd 125.7 x 29.7 x 18.2 ft. Foundered in heavy weather while rounding Cape Leeuwin, late 1876. She has previously gone ashore at Port Augusta in December 1875; early in January 1876 she was refloated, and later in the year an attempt was made to sail her to Fremantle. The crew were picked up by the schooner Brothers which had accompanied her. [LW]

Klaraborg. Two masted auxiliary schooner, 105 tons. Ex Jesper, built 1903 as a steamer and converted to sail in 1920. Lbd  78.3 x 22.3 x 8.6 ft. Abandoned in a leaking condittion, and on fire, one day out of Fremantle bound for Singapore, July 1982. Crew of ten saved. [LW]

Knowsley Hall. Iron ship, 1,774 tons. Built 1873. Lbd 260 x 42.3 x 23.9 ft. Left London June 1879 with 55 passengers for Lyttleton, New Zealand but was not seen again; officially overdue on 7 January 1880, after 214 days out. A piece of timber bearing the letters KNOW and S, part of the bow of a ship, was discovered at Point Dencastran near Albany, WA, in August 1881. Towards the end of the year a message found in a bottle near Portland, Victoria, said that the Knowsley Hall had struck the Crozet Islands and all except three had drowned. The survivors were existing on shellfish. [LW]

Kodlinda. Steamship. Involved in rescue - see Stanford, wrecked near Geraldton, 24 June 1936. [ASW6]

Koombana. Steel steamer, 3668 tons. Built Glasgow 1908. Lbd 340.1 x 48.2 x 20.8 ft. Owned by the Adelaide Steamship Company. Captain Allen. Disappeared without trace in a gale somewhere between Port Hedland and Broome, 20 March 1912. All 138 passengers and twenty crew lost. She had left Port Hedland in a fresh north easterly, following  S.S.Bullarra which was also engaged in the north west passenger and cargo trade. A couple of hours later when they altered courses a heavy north easterly gale was setting in as a cyclone swept the area. The Bullarra was badly damaged by the cyclone but was able to limp into Cossack. The Koombana was not seen again. A search was organized but several vessels which steamed over the route she would have followed found no trace of her until 3 April when one of the search ships steamed through a quantity of wreckage about 25 nautical miles north of Bedout Island. Among the items identified were a lifeboat and state room door. Nothing further was retrieved although in 1973 the remains of what appeared to be a large vessel were located in deep water about 20 nautical miles off the Eighty Mile Beach. In 1985 an RAAF Orion discovered a magnetic anomaly on the seabed 75 km off Bedout Island, in a position where the Koombana was thought to have sunk. The same cyclone caused the loss of the iron ship Crown of England. On board the doomed Koombana in possession of a passenger, Abraham Davies, was the beautiful pearl known as the pearl of death. Apparently, it had brought death to no less than seven of its previous owners. Davies had paid £20,000 for the pearl.  [LW],[HH2],[DG]
@ In 1973, the remains of a large vessel was found in deep water thirty-five kilometres off Eighty Mile Beach - prhaps they were of the Koombana, but the write site has not been positively identified. [LAH]

Korean Star. Panamanian steel bulk carrier, 18,639 tons. Built 1984. Lbd 174 x 26.04 x 10.7 metres. Ashore in a cyclone,  20 May 1988. Struck rocks about two nautical miles north of Cape Cuvier jetty, WA, and within 24 hours had broken in two across No 4 hold, and was abandoned as a total loss. The crew were rescued with some difficulty and a large oil slick developed as fuel escaped from the ruptured hull. [LW]

Kormoran. German raider, steam ship, 8736 tons. Built as the Steiermark in 1938 for the Hamburg-Amerika Line. Lbd 515 x 66 x 30 ft. Speed of 18 knots. Armament: Six 5.9 inch, four 37 mm anti-aircraft guns, four 21 inch torpedo tubes, two aircraft, 320 mines, one small torpedo boat. Lieutenant Commander Detmers. Abandoned, sunk after enemy action against HMAS Sydney, 150 nautical miles south west of Carnarvon, 19 November 1941. [For further account, see Sydney, HMAS]. [LW],#MJ],[LAH]

Kwinana. Steel steamer, 3295 tons. Built at Sunderland 1892. Lbd 340 x 43 x 25 ft. Formerly Darius, Archibald Currie Line. Purchased by the West Australian State Shipping Service and renamed;  reg. Fremantle. Wrecked ashore 30 May 1922; remains blown up in 1941. After catching fire off Carnarvon on 25 December 1920 while bound from Fremantle to Wyndham, she suffered major damage and returned to Fremantle escorted by S.S. Kurnalpi. She finally arrived safely on 28 March 1921 and plans were in hand for her to cross to eastern Australia for a refit when a collision next day in the harbour with S.S. Port Stephens resulted in a decision to convert her into a hulk. She was towed to Garden Island on 9 December 1921 where most of her fittings were removed, then remained anchored near Rockingham until washed ashore on 30 May 1922, becoming a total wreck. [LW],[DG]

Lady Ann. Drill tender ship, 1160 tons. Built 1976 Newcastle. Lbd 60.53 x 13.47 x 4.9 metres. Sank on the north west shelf, WA, after  colliding with the drill ship Regional Endeavour, 19 September 1982. [LW]

Lady Denison, brig, 129, Sydney, 1859. Broken up at Cossack, WA, 1887. [ASR]

Lady Gardner. Pilot boat. Involved in rescue - see Greek freighter Tanais, lost Cape Leschenault, WA, 1965. [LAH]

Lady Joyous. Fishing vessel. Sank near Snag Island, WA, 5 January 1972. [LW]

Lady Lyttleton. Wooden barque, 178 tons. Originally a whaler. Lbd 94.4 x 21.1 x 9.7 ft. Careened for repairs at Emu Point, Albany, WA, but slipped down the bank, filled, sank, and never refloated, June 1867.. The wreck was located in 1974 and artefacts recovered.  [LW],[LAH]

Lady Stirling. Coastal trader/cutter, 25 tons. Built Swan River c.1835. Ashore after springing a leak between Fremantle and Port Leschenault, WA, 7 August 1840. [LW]

Lady Stirling. Paddle steamer, 24, Fremantle, 1857. Broken up at Fremantle. April 1885. [ASR]

Lancier. Barque, wood, 285 tons.Built 1834.  Wrecked in a gale on Stragglers Reef near Mewstone Rock, off Fremantle WA, 22 September 1839. All saved; chest of specie lost, reportedly containing 7000 soverigns.  [LW],[LI],[ASW1]
@ The remains, discovered by skindivers in 1957, are visible in only six metres of water, but there is no sign, as yet, of the treasure chest. [LAH]

Langston. Three masted barque, 766 tons.  Built Sunderland 1869, reg. Norway. Lbd 186.4 x 31.2 x 19.6 feet. Captain Morck. Struck a reef in heavy seas 25 nautical miles south west of Cape Naturaliste, WA, and sank in deep water, 8 February, 1902. The thirteen crew reached the boats and landed at Lake Preston the following afternoon, completely exhausted; one crew died from shock and exposure shortly after landing [LW],[ASW6]

Lapwing. Schooner, 11 tons. Lost in a hurricane near Onslow, WA, 7 February 1911. [LW]

Lass of Geraldton. Two masted wooden schooner, 37 tons. Lbd 60.3 x 15.7 x 7.1 ft.
Built 1863 using timbers from the wrecked ship African, lost Champion Bay, WA, 1863. Sank in squall off Murray River, near Mandurah, WA, March 1867. Five lives lost. [LW]

Laughing Wave. Wooden brig, 161 tons. Built Fremantle 1868. Lbd 105.7 x 21.8 x 11 ft. Abandoned after being nadly damaged,1903. She had parted her anchor cable at Bunbury on 29 August, struck the wreck of the Solveig and lost her rudder. She was taken back to her berth but next night struck the wharf so heavily she was badly damaged and foundered. After several salvage attempts she was abandoned. [LW]

Laura. Schooner, 13, Fremantle, 1903. Sunk off 90-mile Beach. Reg closed 1910. [ASR]

Leander. Brigantine, 173 tons. Struck a reef well off shore Champion Bay, WA, and beached in a leaking condition, 14 November 1853. All saved. [LW]

Leata. Cutter, 4 tons. Foundered near Hopetoun, WA,  7 November 1917. [LW]

Leeuwin. Dutch ship. Sighted the Western Australian cape which now bears its name, in 1622. [LW]

Lenita. Fishing boat. Lost near Albany, WA, 22 November 1933. [LW]

Leslie Hipper. Fishing vessel. Foundered off the WA coast, 8 January 1972. [LW]

Leviathan. Ketch. Wrecked at Mandurah, WA, 25 August 1921. [LW]

Liberty. Schooner. Details not confirmed, but possibly two-mast schooner, 40 tons, built Hobart, lbd 43 x 15 x 7 ft. Captain Budge. Bound for Newcastle from Sydney, wrecked in heavy weather on north side of harbour, 20 January 1830. [ASW1]

Lillian. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost near Lancelin, WA,  14 August 1964. One man drowned. [LW]

Lily. Lugger. Disappeared in a cyclone with on Steamboat Island near Cossack, WA, March 1889. Crew of four Chinese lost. [LW]

Lily of the Lake. Pearling vessel, 26 tons. Captain O'Neil Foundered in a gale in Exmouth Gulf, Christmas Eve 1875. The two owners, the captain and the seventeen Malayan members of the crew all lost their lives. Six Malays swam about ten nautical miles to the shore. [LW]

Linda. Fishing vessel. Wrecked near Moore River, WA, 20 October 1960. Two lives lost. [LW]

Lively. Whaler, c 300 tons. Remains discovered on Rowley Shoals, WA, 1810. She disappeared during a whaling cruise to the South Seas about this time. [LW]

Lizabeth. Fishing boat. Lost near Fremantle, 3 April 1955. [LW]

Lois. Barque, 393 tons. Built Sunderland 1869.Lbd 131.3 x 29 x 17.8 ft.  Struck a rock on arrival at Roebuck Bay, WA, beached and abandoned, 17 July 1890.  [LW]

Lord Loftus. Schooner, 22, Sydney, 1879. Foundered coast WA, April 1887. [ASR]

Lord Stanley. Schooner, 17 tons. Ashore at Fremantle, August 1847. Although refloated was apparently found to be not worth repairing. [LW]

Lorna Doone. Schooner, 15 tons. Wrecked on Eighty Mile Beach, WA, 8 March 1923. [LW]

Lovspring. Norwegian vessel, wood, 566 tons. Built 1873. Lbd 149.4 x 30.9 x 17.8 ft.Wrecked ashore in a gale, Hamelin Bay,  22 July 1900. When her moorings parted she was blown on to Mushroom Rock, and although she sank quickly all the crew were rescued from the rigging. An anchor is on display at the Hamelin Bay carpark. [LW],[LH]

Lubra. Iron steamer, originally 246 tons; size increased to 320 tons in 1877 when she was lengthened. Built Port Glasgow 1860. When lost her dimensions were 167.3 x 22.2 x 10.4 ft. Struck an uncharted rock about 120 nautical miles out from Fremantle, the steamer went ashore at Jurien Bay, 4 January 1898. [LW],[LAH],[DG]

Ludwig. German wooden barque. Built 1889. Lbd 118.7 x 25.2 x 12.7 ft. Caught fire and destroyed about 140 nautical miles south of Cape Leeuwin,  23 March 1891. The master, his wife, children, and the crew of seven landed safely at Hamelin Bay a few days later. [LW]

Lygnern. Steel steamship, 4896 tons. Built Dumbarton 1920. Lbd 400 x 52.7 x 25.6 ft. Ashore and wrecked on a shoal in Gage Roads, WA, 18 September 1928. After being removed from a berth in the harbour during waterfront trouble and was so seriously damaged that most of her cargo was unloaded into lighters before she was handed over to the underwriters. Her remains are visible occasionally when the sea scours away the sand covering her.
[LW],[LAH - built 1928]

M.J. Goulandris. Greek collier, steel steamer, 6669 tons. Built Sunderland 1921 as the Hallgyn. Lbd 420 x 54 x 34.3 feet. Ashore near D'Entrecasteaux Point, WA, 21 December 1944. After taking to the boats in a moderate sea the crew was picked up about eight hours later and landed safely.  [LW]

Macquarie. Schooner, 125 tons. Built Macquarie Harbour 1846. Lbd 81.2 x 23 x 10.3 ft.  Operated in Victorian waters in the 1850s. Lost on Levilian Shoal on the northern end of Dirk Hartog Island, Sharks Bay, during a gale, 14 November 1878. The crew and one passenger narrowly escaped with their lives, and after three days without food and water some had to be carried overland several kilometres before being picked up by the schooner Mary. [LW],[LPA - brig]

Madana. Lugger, 8 tons. Lost on Eighty Mile Beach, WA, 18 October 1931. [LW]

Maggie. Lugger, 13 tons. Built 1885; reg. Sydney. Foundered WA coast, April 1887. [ASR]

Maggie Gollan. Wooden ketch, 59 tons. Built 1875. Lbd  71.4 x 18.7 x 6.9 ft. Lost in a cyclone at Cossack, WA, 2 April 1898. [LW]

Maidstone. Royal Navy submarine depot ship, 13,000 tons.  Built 1939. Lbd 497 x 73 21.2 ft. Complement of 695, max. accommodation for 1,500 submarine crew members. Badly damaged when fire broke out at North Wharf, Fremantle, 17 January 1945. Broken up at Hong Kong in 1946 See Panamanian for further details of the fire. [LW]

Maira. Greek freighter, 9500 tons. Built 1977. From Adelaide to the Persian Gulf with a cargo of flour and grain, caught fire and sank about 300 km west of Geraldton, WA, 10 March 1978. Tanker Team Augwi assisted in the rescued. [LAH]

Mana. Schooner, 107 tons. Lbd 87.8 x 25.7 x 7.6 ft. Wrecked ashore at Fremantle, September 1898. [LW]

Manakura. Fishing boat. Lost near Ledge Point, WA, 1946. [LW]

Mandalay. Iron barque, 913 tons. Built Greenock 1880. Lbd 201 x 32.8 x 19.7 ft. Nowegian owned. Captain J. Ellerston. From Delagoa Bay, South Africa to Albany, wrecked between Cliffy Head and Long Point, WA, 15 May 1911. News of the wreck was not known for several days when the survivors met up with a Deep River settler making his quarterly trip to civilization for supplies. [LW],[LAH - lost 16 January 1911]

Marchant 1. Work boat. Lost at Port Hedland, WA, 1 March 1970. [LW]

Maria. Fishing boat. Lost near Bunbury, WA, 24 January 1965. [LW]

Maria D.S. Fishing boat. Destroyed by fire near Fremantle, 21 November 1967. [LW]

Mariano. British barque, 589 tons. Lbd 167.5 x 27.6 x 18.1 ft. Captain W. McDonnell. Wrecked in a cyclone, Butcher’s Inlet, WA, 23 December, 1878. The wreck is probably best remembered for the bravery of several men from Cossack who volunteered to help rescue the crew. Led by Edward Chapman, three settlers and two Aboriginals rowed an open boat about three nautical miles out to the wreck, then took on board more than half her crew; allowing the ship’s boat to take the remainder. [LW]

Mariner. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast on 15 August 1973. [LW]

Markwell Daring. Fishing vessel. Wrecked near Point Sampson, WA, 20 May 1975. [LW]

Marlene Anne. Fishing vessel. Sank in Jurien Bay, WA, 16 February 1961. Two lives lost. [LW]

Marquis. Fishing vessel. Lost at Rat Island, WA, 10 June 1962. [LW]

Marquis of Anglesea. Ship, 352 tons. Built Sunderland, England 1815. Arrived at Swan River, Western Australia, carrying 104 passengers and a general cargo, on 23 August 1829. Ashore in a gale, Swan River, WA, 4 September 1829. Sold as a wreck to a local merchant who leased her to the Government, she served as a residence, Harbour Master's Office, post office and prison hulk before beginning to break up, and was dismantled c.1831. [LW],[ASW6],[ASW1]

Marutta. Schooner. Lost near Barrow Island, WA, 8 February 1905. [LW]

Mary. Schooner, 48 ton. Ashore and lost at Lockeville north of Bunbury, WA,  5 June 1879.  [LW]

Mary. Lugger, 12 tons. Lost at Cossack during a cyclone, 1888. [LW]

Mary. Lugger, 12 tons. Wrecked in a cyclone which struck Fortescue, WA,  April 1889. [LW]

May B. Lugger. Lost on Little Turtle Island, WA, 23 March 1920. [LW]

Mary 1. Fishing vessel. Burnt off Garden Island, WA, 5 April 1962. [LW]

Mary Ann, lugger, 16, Sydney, 1883. Foundered coast of WA, April 1887. [ASR]

Mary Ann. Schooner, 104 tons. Built 1849. Lbd 84 x 21 x 9 ft. Ashore on Bellinger Islands, WA, 13 July 1876. No lives were lost. [LW]

Mary Ann. Cutter. Built 1863 or after from timbers from ship African, lost Champion Bay, WA, 1863. Ashore near Champion Bay but later refloated. [LW]

Mary Herbert. Brigantine, 92 tons. Built Fremantle 1875. Lbd 76.6 x 19 x 8.3 ft. Left Albany for Fremantle on 4 September 1875 on her way from Adelaide with a crew and 12 passengers, including the owner, but was not seen again. Extensive searches located wreckage near Cape Leeuwin, Vasse and Busselton but her true fate was never determined. [LW]

Mary Queen of Scots. Barque, 266 tons. Built Sunderland 1843. Lbd 94.7 x 21.8 x 15.5 ft. Ashore in a gale off Port Gregory, WA, 7 February 1855. [LW]

Mary Smith. Schooner, 162 tons. Built 1869; reg. Fremantle. Lbd 94.2 x 23.5 x 12.1 ft. Parted her cable and stranded, abandoned,  Fremantle beach, May 1890. [LW],[ASR]

Matterhorn. American three masted wooden vessel, 1,306 tons. Built at Bath, Maine 1866. Lost in a cyclone, Browse island, WA, 1878. High loss of life.  [LW]

Maud. Cuter, 32 tons. Built Fremantle 1866; reg. Fremantle. Lbd  49.2 x 14.3 x 6.3 ft.  Destroyed in cyclones that battered Cossack and Roeburne, WA, 3 and 4 January 1894.  [LW],[ASR]

Maureen Joyous. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost off WA coast, 29 November 1963. [LW]

May. Wooden cutter, 20 tons. Wrecked ashore at Roebourne, 1886. [LW]

May. Vessel of 26 tons. Believed lost off Point Samson, wa, 1888. [LW]

May. Schooner, 11 tons. One of four luggers destroyed and 24 lives lost when a cyclone swept through the Onslow, WA, region 5-6 April 1909.  [LW]

May Flower. Brig, 277 tons. Built Sunderland 1867. Lbd 110 x 26.6 x 16 ft. Captain Walker. Wrecked in  Flinders Bay, WA, 14 July 1880. The site of this wreck is well known to many divers. [LW]

Mayflower. Fishing boat. Lost off the Western Australian coast, 1896 [LW]

Mayflower. Launch, 49 ft. Used as a ferry in 1912, then from 1949 running as a private charter boat. Her remains lie at Bull Creek off the Canning River, Perth, WA. [LH]

Mayhill. Iron and steel four masted barque, 2121 tons. Built Dundee, Scotland, 1890. Lbd 292 x 41 x 23.7 ft. From Middlesborough to Geraldton, wrecked on Moore Reef about two nautical miles off Point Moore, WA, 10 August 1895.  She was one of the fastest four masted barques built, and at the time of her loss was carrying 2947 tons of steel rails for the Mullewa-Cue railway. [LW],[LAH]

Melville. Launch. Sank in Fremantle Harbour following a collision with S.S. Orungal, 26 August 1932.  [LW]

Merope. Barque, whaler, 311 tons. Built at Fort Gloster, Bengal, 1818; reg. Hobart on 12 November 1835, re. Sydney 14 March, 31/1840. Lbd 90-10 x 27 x 5.3 ft. Captain J. Hogg. Ashore on Parmelia Bank, off Fremantle, WA, in a gale, night of 28-29 February 1845. Later refloated. The barque Halifax Packet went ashore on the same night. [ASW1]

Michael J. Goulandris. Greek-owned steel steamship, 6669 tons. Built Sunderland, 1921. When carrying 7000 tons of coal and 2000 tons of general cargo for Fremantle, ran on to a reef, wrecked, 21 December 1944. Crew of thirty-six saved.  [LAH]
Location ? - presume off WA coast.

Midas. Barque, 555 tons. Built 1865. Ashore in a gale at Bunbury, 10 March 1872. Sold as is and partly dismantled. [LW]

Mildura. Steel steamer, 2217 tons. Built Glasgow 1901. Lbd 300.4 x 42.1 x 13.8 ft. Owned by the Australasian United Steam Navigation Company; reg. Brisbane. Captain Thorpe. From Cambridge Gulf to Fremantle, abandoned on a reef, in bad weather, near North West Cape, WA, 10 March 1907. SS Burrumbeet arrived and rescued the crew, but all 481 bullocks on board were left to die. [LW],[LAH],[DG - lost June 1907]

Mina. Lugger. Wrecked near Swan Point, WA,  c.1933. [LW]

Minderoo. Steamship, 2720 tons. Built Glasgow 1909. Lbd 320.2 x 44.3 x 18.2 ft.  Owned by the West Australian Steam Navigation Company; reg. London. While berthing at Port Hedland, WA, to load sheep, was swung on to a sandbank by the tide, and then as it receded she broke her back, June 1936. On the next high tide the crippled steamer was hauled alongside the jetty and most of the cargo was successfully unloaded. After being declared a total loss, was sold for demolition.  [LW]

Mindil. Pearling lugger, 10 tons. Built 1884. Lost at Legrange Bay, WA, August 1888. [LW],[ASR]

Mineral Diamond.  Steel bulk carrier, 75,330 tonnes. Built in 1982 as the Mountain Thistle. Lbd 265.01 x 42.98 x 23.78 metres. Disappeared with her crew of 27 between Dampier and Cape Town, mid April 1991. She may have been caught on the edge of Cyclone Fifi and foundered in a force 10 gale about 1,500 nautical miles off the WA coast. [LW]

Ming Chen No 11. Taiwanese fishing boat. Disappeared off the WA coast on or about 26 March 1986. Twenty crew. Only a small quantity of wreckage was recovered to confirm her fate. [LW]

Minnie. Pearling lugger. Wrecked on Fortescue Island, November 1872. [LW]

Miss Barbara Rose. Fishing vessel. Foundered north of the Moore River, WA, after colliding with vessel Terra Nova, 14 April 1973. [LW]

Miss Phoenix. Fishing vessel. Destroyed by fire off Green Island, WA, 11 March 1961. [LW]

Mitallulgah. Mission lugger. Wrecked at Grey Point, West Bay, WA, during a storm,  April 1955. [LW]

Moa (Tersita Moa). Auxiliary schooner, 17 tons. Wrecked in the estuary of the King Edward River, WA, March 1947. [LW]

Moana. Schooner, 15 tons. Run down by S.S. Bambra near Onslow, WA, 17 August 1920. Master and crew of six drwoned. [LW]

Monaro. Steamer. Involved in rescue - see Periciles, losst of Cape Leeuwin, WA, 1910.

Morning Star. Pearling cutter. Foundered in cyclone, Mangrove Islands near the Fortescue River, WA, 7 February 1881. Master drowned. [LW]

Morning Star. Fishing vessel. Foundered near Albany, WA, 12 August 1975. [LW]

Mosquito. Fishing vessel. Wrecked at Jurien Bay, WA, 13 December 1972. One life lost. [LW]

Motiara. Cutter. Ashore at Point Petit, WA, December 1899. [LW]

Mountaineer. Cutter, 23 tons. Wrecked at Thistle Cove, WA, 24 March 1835. The nine passengers and crew landed safely. [LW],[ASW1]

Moyne. Fishing boat. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 30 May 1957. [LW]

Mulga. Barge, destroyed by fire at Onslow, WA, on 27 August 1971 while loaded with hot bitumen. One life lost. [LW]

Mystic. Fishing vessel. Lost near Geraldton, 10 September 1973. [LW]

Myth. Cutter, 31 tons. Lost off the Western Australian coast, 1910. [LW]

Nakkai Maru. Japanese tuna boat. Cut in half by the freighter Hervang about 250 nautical miles west of Carnarvon, WA,  January 1966. All crew rescued. [LW]

Narrung. Steamer. Involved in rescue - see Boveric, 1902. [LW]

Nautilus. Fishing trawler. Sunk by a huge wave near Point Sampson, WA, 13 May 1987. The crew of three swam to a marker buoy and clung to it for four days before being sighted by a searching R.A.A.F. aircraft and rescued. [LW]

Nautilus 11. Fishing vessel. Lost near Port Gregory, WA, 10 March 1960. [LW]

Neptune. Cutter, 21 tons. Wrecked on rocks near the mouth of the Greenough River, WA, 13 June 1901. One man drowned, two survivors. [LW]

Nerissa. Small craft. Lost near Escape Island, WA, 1 August 1970. [LW]

New Harvest. Taiwanese bulk carrier, 106,812 tonnes. Drifted ashore at Cape Lambert, WA,  while loading iron ore for Japan,  8  June 1993. She was refloated undamaged. [LW]

New Perseverance. Schooner, 105 tons. Lbd 85.4 x 20.7 x 9.9 ft. Built Swan River  1857. Struck rocks at Butcher's Inlet, WA, on 20 December 1866. In later years she was used as a storage hulk.  [LW]

Ngardee Mar. Wooden motor vessel, 66 tons. Aparently wrecked at Port Gregory, WA, during or prior to 1970. [LW]

Ngawini. Small craft, type unknown. Lost near Esperance, WA, 1940.  [LW]

Nicol Bay. Auxiliary ketch, 73 tons. Built Perth 1925. Lbd 64 x 20.5 x 8.6 ft. Sank near Cockatoo Island, WA, after striking a reef in calm weather, 6 September 1959. Crew of five and two passengers landed on Cockatoo Island at dawn. [LW]

Nicola. Fishing boat. Lost off WA coast, 1961. [LW]

Nijptangh. Dutch vessel. See entry under Geelvinck. [HH2]

Niobe Queen. Fishing vessel. Wrecked at Zuytdorp Cliffs, WA, 26 June 1974. The crew of three climbed to safety and were rescued by a helicopter from H.M.A.S. Moresby. [LW]

Nitrocus. Ketch, 9 tons. Lost at Normanby Island, WA,  May 1924. [LW]

Nizam. H.M.A.S. Australian destroyer, 1760 tons standard displacement. Completed in 1941. When about eleven nautical miles off Cape Leeuwin badly damaged when struck by a freak squall and giant wave while steaming at more than 20 knots, 11 February 1945. Lifeboats and davits were swept away, gun platforms bent, the electrical system was destroyed; in fact very little of the ship escaped damage and it was a miracle that she was not lost. Ten seamen washed overboard and never found. [LW]

No.3 F. Lugger. Ashore in a cyclone on Steamboat Island near Cossack, WA, March 1889.  [LW]

Nor 6. Crayboat. Struck rocks off Dirk Hartog Island, WA,  and foundered, 25 April 1962. Skipper saved, three crew lost. [LW]

Nord Star. Trawler, 62 tons. Built 1946. Lbd 62.5 x 17.5 x 9.7 ft. Sank off Green Island, WA, 2 June 1960.  [LW]

Norfolk. Steamer, 6000 tons. Federal Steam Navigation Company. Left Durban, South Africa on 28 May 1907 in ballast, bound for Australia; on 19 June was left helpless when her propeller dropped off. There was a heavy gale blowing and big seas raging at the time, causing her to roll heavily while broadside on to the waves. There was talk of abandoning her but eventually sails were set on her four masts and she was able to make about four knots. After eleven days she reached Rottnest, and her signals to the pilot station brought two tugs to tow her in for repairs. [LW]

North America. American whaler, 285 tons. Built New York 1804. Lbd 95.5 x 26 x 13 ft. Captain Kempton. Ashore in a gale and wrecked, Koombana Bay, WA, June 1843. Refloated after being condemned and sold at auction, however another gale drove her ashore once again and she was soon a total wreck. [LW]

North Cape. Crayfish freezing vessel, 116 tons. Destroyed by fire near Green Islets, WA,  3 April 1953. [LW]

North Star. American built whaler, 399 tons. Lbd 110.5 x 28 x 10.9 ft. Lost in a gale on a coral reef near Bedout Island, WA, 11 July 1856. Crew of 37 saved.  [LW]

Northumberland. Ship, 1168 tons. Built 1864. Lbd 181 x 37 x 24 ft. Captain Humphreys. Wrecked off Bald Head, King George Sound, 20 June 1868. After a horrendous voyage from Newcastle, England, she approached King George Sound with five metres of water in the hold, struck a reef off Bald Head and broke the rudder. The crew finally left her and landed on Breaksea Island shortly before she foundered in a line between Cape Vancouver and Breaksea Island, about eight nautical miles out. [LW],[ASW6]

Norwegian Bay. Whaling vessel. Wrecked on a reef near Wedge Island, WA, 17 June 1950.  Hastily abandoned by her crew of nine when she commenced to break up in heavy seas. They reached shore through shark infested waters then walked along the coast to Lancelin. [LW]

Norwester. Danish barque, 547 tons. Ashore in a gale near the wreck of the wreck of the Arcadia, Hamelin Bay, Western Australia, 22 July 1900. After being auctioned for twenty one pounds she was refloated in November and towed to Fremantle for repairs. [LW]

Nova Scotia. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost near the mouth of the Moore River, WA, 20 April 1964. One crew drowned.  [LW]

Oberon. Wooden ketch,  17 tons. Lost off WA coast, 6 September 1956. [LW]

Occator. Brigantine, 217 tons. Built Prince Edward Island 1853. Lbd 89.5 x 20.3 x 11.6 ft. Ashore near North West Cape, WA, 4 February 1856. The pne passenger and eight crew landed on Morion’s Island about 56 nautical miles from the wreck. Finding it deserted they decided to return to the ship to recover more water; about forty Aborigines menaced them with spears and stones, but a shot fired from the passenger’s gun scared them away. Four days later they reached Shark Bay and landed on Dirk Hartog Island. They were rescued by the schooner Favourite. [LW]

Odessa. Fishing boat. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 1 June 1968. [LW]

Oleander. Barque, 383 tons. Built 1871. Lbd 132.5 x 26.8 x 16.5 ft. Abandoned in a leaking condition and foundered on a voyage between  Shark Bay and Fremantle, 1 March 1884. All crew safe. [LW],[LAH]

Olive. Wooden schooner, 43 tons. Lost on Dorre Island at the entrance to Shark Bay, WA, 5 December 1916. [LW]

Ollie Marsden. Fishing trawler. Abandoned by her crew of three when she caught fire about 35 nautical miles south west of Esperance, WA, 22 March 1992. [LW]

Omeo. Four-masted barque, 789 tons. Built originally as an iron steamer at Newcastle on Tyne in 1858; converted to a barque in 1881. Lbd 213.2 x 30.5 x 16.7 ft.  Broke up in a gale  northern end of Coogee Beach after conversion as a hulk, 1926. Ashore in Hamelin Bay, WA, in adverse weather on  4 November 1895; refloated in April 1896 and towed to Fremantle for conversion to a hulk. Driven ashore by a gale in 1926 and soon broke up..  [LW],[LPA],[DG]

Oregon. Fishing vessel. Sunk near Wedge Island, WA, 9 December 1965. [LW]

Orizaba. Steamship, 6298 tons. (Sister Oroya). Built at Barrow, 1886. Lbd 460 x 49.3 x 19.4 ft. Owned by the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, sister ship to the Oroya. Wrecked on Five Fathom Bank near Garden Island on the approach to Fremantle, 17 February, 1905. Visibility had ben obscured by bushfire haze. Although she quickly developed a heavy list to port all passengers were landed safely, then about 900 tons of the 2,500 tons of cargo was recovered. Battered constantly by a heavy swell, parts of the wreck remained visible for more than two years before breaking up and disappearing two years later. Framework of the hull remains together with boilers, parts of the engines and a considerable amount of scattered wreckage. She is one of the largest ships to have been wrecked in Australian waters.
[LW],[ASW6],[WL],[DG]
@ At 148 metres long, the Orizaba is one of the largest accessible shipwrecks in Australian waters, however the swells are unpredictable and the mass of jagged metal and junk on the seabed generally makes it an uncomfortable dive. [LAH]

Orungal. Steamship. Collided with and sank the launch Melville in Fremantle harbour, 26 August 1932. [LW]

Otter Snipe. Pearling lugger. Foundered in Sunday Straits, WA, 10 October 1899. Four lives lost.  [LW]

Otunic. Schooner, 6 tons. One of four luggers destroyed and 24 lives lost when a cyclone swept through the Onslow, WA, region 5-6 April 1909.  [LW]

Pacific Star. Fishing boat. Sunk near Dongarra, WA, 29 March 1976. [LW]

Palermo. Fishing boat. Wrecked at Ledge Point. WA, 20 December 1969. Three lives lost. [LW]

Pamela. Fishing boat. Lost off WA coast, 1961.  [LW]

Panamanian.  Panama registered merchant ship, 13,639 tons. Built 1903 - intended name was Minnelora but launched as the Pacific Mail; renamed President Fillmore in 1929, Panamanian in 1940. Lbd 616 x 65.3 x ? ft. Designed to carry 350 first class, 68 second class and 1,400 steerage class passengers. Destroyed when fire broke out at North Wharf, Fremantle, 17 January 1945. The fire commenced when a hessian bag ignited and the flames spread to an oil slick beside the merchantman, then to the ships's superstructure where the bridge, saloon and promenade deck were soon ablaze. Ammunition for the 4 inch gun mounted on her stern and the anti-aircraft armament began to explode as the depot ship Maidstone, loaded with torpedoes, ammunition and dieseline, with her bridge alight was towed clear and the flames extinguished. After more than twelve hours the fire on the freighter was brought under control until an easterly sprang up and rekindled the flames. During this second outbreak one of the firefighters fell down a hatchway into a hold full of blazing cargo and lost his life. By evening the second fire had been extinguished leaving a legacy of one fatality and a damage bill to ships, cargo and wharf of more than £600,000. [LW]

Parmelia. Ship, 443 tons. Master J.H.Luscombe. Carrying fifty-five passengers including officials and for the new settlement at Swan River, grounded on a shoal between Woodman Point and Carnac Island, 2 June 1829. She sustained considerable damage but was refloated and repaired. [ASW1]

Patara. Fishing vessel. Lost during a cyclone at Learmonth, WA,  4 December 1973. [LW]

Patience. Wooden steamer, 15 tons. Wrecked off the WA coast during 1930. [LW]

Pauline. Ketch, 21 tons. Wrecked on Horshoe Reef, WA, July 1889. [LW]

Pearl. Schooner, 30 tons. Built Fremantle 1873. Lbd 57 x 15 x 7 ft. Foundered off Point Gantheaume on the northern side of Roebuck Bay, WA,  22 February 1891. No loss of life. [LW]

Pearl. Schooner, 30 tons. Built 1873; reg. Fremantle. Foundered Roebuck Bay, WA, February 1891. [ASR]

Pearl. Lugger, 13 tons. Lost near Turtle Island, WA,  November 1920. [LW]

Pearl. Fishing vessel. Lost near Murchison River, WA, 5 March, 1960. [LW]

Pelsart. Wooden ketch, 64 tons. Wrecked near North West Cape, WA, October 1908. [LW]

Penguin. Government trawler, steel steamer, 208 tons. Built 1897. Lbd 120 x 24.1 x 11.4 ft. Lost during heavy weather in Middle Island near Esperance, WA, 1920. Crew saved. [LW]

Penguin. Pearling lugger. Lost near Onslow, 1909. [LW]

Penguin. Small craft, type unlisted. Lost on Middle Island, 1940. [LW]

Penguin. Steamer. Searched for the missing bucket dredge Posidonia in the Great Australian Bight, without success, 1914. [LAH]

Penola. Iron steamer. See Perth, iron steamer. [LW]

Perentie. Barge. Sank near Barrow Island, WA, 8 November 1976. [LW]

Periciles. Four masted twin-screw steel steamer, 10925 tons. Built by Harland & Wolff of Belfast at Aberdeen, for the Aberdeen Line, 1908. Lbd 550.6 x 62.3 x 31.1 ft. Captain Simpson. Struck an uncharted rock off the St. Alouan Islets, sank by the bows, four nautical miles off Cape Leeuwin, WA,  31 March 1910. Bound for London with 238 passengers and a crew of 162; all landed safely, due in part to the efforts of  Mr Lyon, the Head Keeper at Cape Leeuwin lighthouse. Some of the steamer’s cargo of butter, copra, coconut oil, tallow and spirits was recovered. The passengers were trabsfere to the stamr Monara. The ship lies in deep water, and is one of the largest to have sunk in Australian waters.  [LW],[ASW6],[LAH - name Pericles, 11400 tons],[DG - name Pericles]

Perseverance.  Cutter. Ashore in a gale whilst taking on cargo, total loss, Leschenault, WA. 28 February 1845. [ASW1],[LW]

Perseverant. French whaler, 269 tons. Built 1837. Lost in Shark Bay, WA, during a gale, 16 March 1841. The crew remained at the wreck for about ten weeks before leaving in four boats, and after many privations reached safety. [LW],[ASW1]

Perth. Iron steamer,  499/170 tons. Built  Glasgow 1863 as the Penola. Lbd 192.1 x 22.5 x 12.6 ft.   Wrecked ashore near Point Cloates, WA, 16 September 1887. The boiler burst soon after she struck injuring several firemen, but all passengers and crew landed safely. Under the name of Penola she ran on the Victorian West Coast and the South East of South Australia until purchased by the Adelaide Steam Ship Company in 1883, then rebuilt and lengthened the following year. [LW],[LAH],[ASR - wrecked Point Cloaks (sic)],[DG]

Pet. Schooner, 90 tons. Built 1877. Lbd 85.5 x 19.5 x 8.1 ft. Foundered immediately after being struck by a whale in the vicinity of Cape Hamelin, 7 March 1882. Al crew except the master drowned. [LW]

Peter Silvester.  American Liberty Ship, 7176 tons. Built by Joshua Hendy Ironworks at Sunnyvale, California, June 1942. Lbd 441.5 x 57 x 27.8 ft. Torpedoed by German submarine U-862, sank,  700 nautical miles west of Fremantle, 6 February 1945. Thirty-two lives lost. [LW]

Peter. Schooner, 11 tons. Wrecked in King George Sound, WA, 25 March 1897. [LW]

Petina. Schooner, 15, Fremantle, 1909. Vessel lost in cycl;one 27 March 1935. [ASR]

Petrel. Lugger. Wrecked on Sunday Island, WA,  1 April 1935. [LW]

Petrel. Fishing boat. Lost off WA coast, 13 July 1976. [LW]

Phyllis Agnew. Wooden auxiliary ketch, 31 tons. Lost 65 km north of Murchison River, WA, 12 December 1961. [LW]

Pirra. Lighter. Destroyed by fire at Fremantle, 20 March 1907. [LW]

Planet. Pearling schooner. Believed lost on a reef near Delambre Island, WA, 1881. [LW]

Planet. Topsail schooner, 65 tons. Built 1877; reg. Fremantle. Lbd 73 x 16.4 x 7.8 ft. Wrecked ashore north of Dongara, WA, May 1890. [LW],[ASR]

Plym. River Class frigate, measuring 1460 tons displacement. Commissioned 1943. Lbd  301.5 x 36.7 x 12 ft. Obliterated during British Govrnment atomic bomb testing in the Monte Bello Islands, 8 August 1952. The bomb was detonated on board the warship anchored off Trimouille Island, vaporising her and destroying most living creatures over many square kilometres. [LW]

Port Stephens. Steamship. Collided with steamer Kwinana, 29 March 1921. [LW]

Posidonia.  Iron bucket dredge. Vanished in the Great Australian Bight late in January 1914 after leaving Port Pirie for Fremantle. The ocean and entire coastline were searched without finding any trace of her, and some believed she may have foundered in rough weather only a short distance south of Rottnest as there were reports that she was spoken in the vicinity of Cape Leeuwin on the 28th. The steamers Governor Musgrave and Penguin searched without finding any trace. Twenty two lives were lost.  [LW]

Premier. Schooner, 51 tons. Built 1869. Ashore, lost in a gale at Port Irwin, WA, 1873. [LW]

Preston. Schooner, 19 tons. Master John Keefe Wrecked near the mouth of the Murray River, WA, July 1861. [LW]

Providence. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast, 29 May 1962. [LW]

Raconteur. Fishing vessel. Believed lost, 1975. [LW]

Ranger. Lugger, 12 tons. Built 1884; reg. Sydney. Foundered off WA coast, April 1887. [ASR]

Ranji Jay. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost near Enderby Island, WA, 20 April 1964. [LW]

Rapid. Three masted wooden vessel, 367 tons. Reg. Boston, USA, 1807. Wrecked at Ningaloo Reef near Point Cloates, WA, 7 January 1811. She left Boston on 29 September 1810 for Canton with a mixed cargo which included 330,000 Spanish dollars. After setting fire to what remained of the ship, the crew of twenty-two left in three boats and all apparently reached safety. Most of her valuable cargo was salvaged but divers located thousands of coins, anchors, cannon and general items. [LW]
@ Four spearfishermen found thousands of silver coins on the seabed off Point Cloates in 1978, thus discovering the wrecksite of the Rapid - although the name of the vessel was not known for quite some time, it being finally establsihed by the WA Musuem in 1981. They finders were awarded $30,000 for their find, but had to hand over the coins, which eventually totalled over 19,000 Spanish silver dollars.

Redemptora. Ship, 1235 tons. Condemned in 1888 and used as a coal hulk in Careening Bay, WA, for many years before being abandoned. With a cargo of sugar and coffee from
Rio de Janeiro bound for Adelaide, she was battered by a gale off Cape horn. The crew cut away her main topmast, upper top yard, main to gallant yard, and fore top gallant mast, but the ship was badly strained and needed continual pumping. She was towed into Fremantle on 24 October, then condemned. [LW]

Regional Endeavour. Oil drilling ship. Involved in a collision with the tender Lady Ann, 1982. [LW]

Rescue. Built as a wooden steamer in 1886 and converted to sail in 1907, she was a vessel of 62 tons. Lbd 74 x 17.1 x 7.9 ft.. Wrecked near North Turtle Island on 30 May [LW]

Ridderschap Van Hollandt. Dutch vessel. Left Wielingen on 11 July 1693 with a crew of 325; she sailed from the Cape of Good Hope on 9 February 1694 and was not seen again. [LW],[HH2]

Rip. Port Phillip Heads Pilot boat, wooden fore and aft schooner, 92 tons. Built 1859 to the order of Number 2 Pilot Company at Cedar Point, St. John, New Brunswick; arrived at Williamstown, Victoria, 2 May 1860. reg. Melbourne. Lbd 90 x 23.2 x 11.4 ft. Involved in a number of incidents; in September 1869 when she was run down by the ship Palm Tree, and in July 1873 huge seas almost overwhelmed her in The Rip. She was replaced by a new vessel in 1887 when she was sold out of the service and converted to a fishing boat on the Western Australian coast. Eventually, riddled with holes from the teredo worm she was towed to sea, ballasted, then set on fire. Her charred hulk drifted ashore and was visible half buried in the sand for many years. [LW]

Rita. Lugger. Wrecked in Collier Bay, WA, 1 February 1923. [LW]

Robertina. Brig, 213 tons. Built Greenock 1843. Reg Melbourne. Lbd 86.7 x 20.3 x 14.9 ft. Struck and lost on Murray Reef, WA, 2 November 1859. Twelve crew and seven passengers escaped. The wreck was relocated in 1987. [LW]

Rockingham. Wooden ship, 423 tons. Built Sunderland, England 1818. Captain E. Halliburton. Ashore in Mangles Bay, Cockburn Sound, WA, after parting her anchors in a violent gale, 1830. All passengers and crew landed safely. She was eventually refloated; left for Batavia in October but sprang a leak and was forced to return where she was condemned as unseaworthy and sold as a hulk at Careening Bay, WA. The Rockingham has been chartered by the Western Australian Company to take immigrants to the newly settled Swan River, arriving from the UK on 13 May 1830. [LW],[ASW6],[ASW1],[LAH]

Rodondo. Two-masted iron steamer, 1119/715 tons. Built Liverpool, England, 1879; reg. Sydney. Lbd 239.8 x 30.2 x 21.3 ft.  Howard Smith Line. Wrecked on Pollock Reef off Israelite Bay, WA south coast, 6 October 1894. Sank near the South East Islets. Fortunately the sea was calm and only four lives were lost out of about 440 passengers and crew. The Grace Darling rescued some of the passengers.
[LW],[ASR],[LAH],[DG]

Roebuck. Royal Navy vesel on which William Dampier sailed to and explored the coast of New Holland, 1699. He sighted the west Australian coast near the Abrolhos islands in August 1699, and dropped anchor in Shark Bay. On 22 February 1701 he reached Ascension island in the Atlantic where the Roebuck, leaking and falling apart, slowly and quiety sank in six metres. He made no no significant new discoveries, and wrote another book A Voyage to New Holland. See also Cygnet. [HH2]

Ronsard. Small craft. Burnt near Cervantes, WA, 13 February 1970. [LW]

Rosabud. Lugger. Possibly wrecked on Airlie Island, WA, mid August 1928. [LW]

Rosella. Schooner. Ashore on rocks at Geraldton, WA, 8 September 1928. [LW]

Rosette. Schooner, 67 tons. Built 1874. Lbd  70.6 x 18 x 7.8 ft. Ashore in a gale, on a sandbank at Rosemary Island near the mouth of the Fortescue River, WA, January 1879. All nineteen crew and passengers lost. Clothing and wreckage were found on nearby Goodwya Island but there were no human tracks. An anchor and some chain possibly from her has been located between Enderby and Goodwyn Islands.. [LW]

Rosina. Lugger, 10 tons. Built 1883; reg. Sydney. Foundered at WA, 1887. [ASR]

Rosna. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost near Cliff Head, WA, 19 July 1963. [LW]

Ross Junior. Fishing craft. Lost near Quinn’s Rocks, 1965. [LW]

Rottnest Hydroplane. See Un-named. Rottnest Hydroplane. [LW]

Ruby. Schooner, 207 tons. Built 1869 as the Undine. Lbd 115.7 x 23 x 12 ft. Lost in King George Sound, WA, 25 March 1890. [LW]

Ruby. Cutter, 31 tons. Built 1880. Lbd 51.2 x 16.1 x 6.6 ft. Left Cossack, WA, in March 1882 to join the pearling fleet two days before a cyclone hit the area. She was not seen again. [LW]

Runnymede. Wooden whaling barque, 284 tons. Built Hobart Town 1849. Lbd 103.6 x 23.2 x 15.5 ft. Ashore in strong winds at Frenchman’s Bay near Albany, WA, 19 December 1881. Following a survey it was decided to break her up where she lay. [LW]

Runnymede. Iron barque, 640 tons. Built Sunderland, England, 1866. Lbd 170.2 x 29.4 x 18.8 ft. Wtrecked in a cyclone at Browse Island, 22 December 1878. [LW]

S.B.S. Trawler. 20 metre. Lost near Swanbourne, WA, 18 December 1988. [LW]

Saint Maddalena. Trawler. 18 metres. Capsized off the WA coast, 6 June 1992. Three lives lost. [LW]

Salve. Brigantine, 433 tons. Built 1870. Lbd 123 x 30.1 x 16.6 ft. Beached in a leaking condition at Augusta, WA, 25 October 1878. Presumed lost. [LW]

Samuel Plimsoll. Iron ship. Launched  September 1873. Aberdeen White Star line. On her maiden voyage she took out 180 emigrants, leaving Plymouth on 19 November 1873, and arriving at Port Jackson on 1 February 1874. She remained on the Australian Run to Sydney till 1887, then transferred to Melbourne, and did the run in 79 days. The Samuel Plimsoll plied the Australia Run for over a quarter of a century. In 1899 however she caught fire in the Thames and had to be scuttled. After being raised and repaired, she was sold to the Savill Line, who operated her until 1902 when she was dismasted and badly damaged. She was towed to Sydney from New Zealand and later taken to Western Australia where she was converted into a coal hulk at Fremantle harbour. [ASW6]

Samuel Wright. American whaler, 372 tons. Lbd110 x 28 x 13.7 ft. Captain Coffey. Wrecked in a gale at Koombana Bay, WA, 8 July 1840. High and dry and relatively undamaged, she was sold by private auction [LW],[ASW1 - wrecked Bunbury Harbour]

Sandra. Cray boat.  Pilot boat. Involved in rescue - see Greek freighter Tanais, lost Cape Leschenault, WA, 1965. [LAH]

Sandra. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost off WA coast, 2 December 1963. [LW]

Sanko Harvest. Steel bulk carrier,  33,024 tonnes. Built 1985. Lbd 167.01 x 27.01 x 14.81 metres. Owned by the Seewell Shipping Corporation; reg. Panama. Broke in two and sank four days after stranding on a reef in the Recherche Archipelago near Esperance, WA, 18 February 1991. All the cargo holds were open to the sea, spilling 30,000 tonnes of fertiliser and 570 tonnes of bunker oil into the sea, threatening a colony of rare seals on nearby Hood Island. Wildlife experts and volunteers rushed to the scene and a major environmental disaster was averted. [LW]

Sara. Schooner, 54 tons. Built 1855. Lost near Port Gregory, WA, 17 July, 1856.  [LW]

Sarah. Took rescued crew of the American whaler from Albany to Melbourne, September 1842. [ASW1]

Scorpion. Cutter. Lost in Scorpion Bight, WA, 1876. [LW]

Scout. Schooner. Wrecked near Geraldton, WA, March 1918. [LW]

Sea Bird. Schooner, 40 tons. Built Vasse 1865. Lbd 59.5 x 16.9 x 6.2 ft. Stranded near Champion Bay, WA, and abandoned, June 1874. [LW]

Sea Flower. Schooner, 53 tons.Built 1886. Lbd 75.2 x 21.4 6.5 ft. Capsized near Moore River, WA, 20 September 1923. Only one survivor from her crew of six. [LW]

Sea Gull. Schooner, 10 tons. One of four luggers destroyed and 24 lives lost when a cyclone swept through the Onslow, WA, region 5-6 April 1909.  [LW]

Sea Hawk. Small craft. Lost off the mouth of the Moore River, WA, 12 January 1970. [LW]

Sea Nymph. Brigantine, 173 tons. Built 1850. Lbd 89 x 21 x 12.2 ft. Ashore and lost in a gale at Catherine Point, Fremantle, WA, 18 June 1868.  [LW]

Sea Raider. Fishing vessel. Lost near Dongarra, WA, during July 1973. [LW]

Sea Spray. Pearling vessel, 31 tons. Built Fremantle 1862. Disappeared near Port Hedland, 1873. Twenty-eight  Europeans, Aborigines and Malays lost. [LW]

Sea Spray. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast, 25 July 1974. One life lost. [LW]

Sea Urchin. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast, 22 May 1961. [LW]

Seaspray. Fishing vessel. Lost near Bunbury, WA, 1 June 1961. [LW]

Seaspray. Fishing vessel.  Lost near Murchison River, WA, 30 November 1961. [LW]

Secret. Ketch. Lost in Shark Bay, WA, 5 April 1904. [LW]

Secret. Cutter. Lost on Dirk Hartog Island, WA, May 1921. [LW]

Senang Harti. Indonesian fishing boat. Sank off the WA coast, March 1989. She has been arrested and was under tow. [LW]

Sepia. Iron barque, 715 tons. Built Hartlepool, England, 1864. Lbd 177.3 x 29.4 x 18 ft. Out of London , sank within minutes of striking Challenger rock, two kilometres south-west of Carnac Island, twelve nautical miles from Fremantle, 29 December 1898. Four members of the crew lashed themselves to the masts which were standing well above sea level, while the remainder rowed to Fremantle for assistance. [LW],[LI],[ASW6]
@ Portion of her hull, anchors and numerous artefacts remain in fifteen metres, two kilometres off Carnac Island. [LAH]

Shamrock. Lugger. Lost Western Australia, 20 February 1901. [LW]

Sharon Rose. Fishing boat. Lost at Geraldton, WA, 17 June 1968. [LW]

Sharperton. Vessel of 363 tons. Built 1869. Lbd 123.3 x 27.8 x 17.2 ft. Captain Atkinson. Lost off the eastern Lacepede Island, off WA coast, 10 August 1878. [LW]

Shelley Boy. Crayfishing bot, 120 ton. Sank near Wedge Islet, WA, 14 February 1955. Her crew of 17 took to inflatable dinghys and were eventually rescued by H.M.A.S. Fremantle and H.M.A.S. Junee. [LW]

Sianta. Steel steamship, 8667 tons. Built 1921; reg. Rotterdam. Lbd 471.3 x 57.4 x 30.2 ft. Sank after being torpedoed and shelled by a Japanese submarine 250 nautical miles west of North West Cape, WA, 2 March 1942. Forty of her crew of sixty-one survived. [LW],[LAH]

Siesta. Fishing vessel. Lost near Yanchep, WA, 27 March 1961. [LW]

Silver Star. Steel steamer, 96 tons. Built Perth 1905.  Deliberately holed and abandoned at Cossack, WA, in the belief that a Japanese invasion was imminent, 1942. [LW]

Silver Star. Small steamer. Believed lost at Onslow, WA, 1908. [LW]

Silver Star. Fishing boat. Lost near Cossack, WA, 1967. [LW]

Singa See. Steel bulk carrier, 16,244 tons. Built at Glasgow in 1976 as the Dona Magdalena. Lbd 175.14 x 25.53 x 9.96 metres. Disappeared after leaving bunbury for rotterdam via Cape Town, July 1988. [LW]

Solglyt. Norwegian barque, wood, 869 tons. Built 1888; reg. Grimstad, Norway. Lbd 176.5 x 34.6 x 20 ft. Captain Winlas. Ashore, wrecked at Bunbury in a northerly gale, July 1901. [LW],[LAH]

Solveig. Wooden vessel, 619 tons. Built 1877. Lbd 158.2 x 33 x 17.7 ft. Norwegian owned. Wrecked ashore after parted her cables off Port Sampson jetty, (near Cossack, WA), during a gale in late February, 1903. [LW]

Sonoma. Fishing vessel. Lost off WA coast, 17 August 1972. [LW]

Sonoma. Fishing vessel. Destroyed by fire at Roebourne, WA, 26 May 1975. [LW]

Speculator. Pearling cutter. Capsized in Mermaid Straits, WA, during a gale, June 1876.  Two crew drwoned.  [LW]

Square & Compass. Wrecked in a cylone, Roebourne, WA, 20 March 1872.  [LW]

St. Lawrence. Vessel of 1131 tons. Built 1861. Lbd 179.1 x 37.4 x 21.4 ft. Condemned at Albany after a gale, 27 March 1889. [LW]

St. Mary. Cutter. Lost near Snag Island, WA, 16 June 1905. [LW]

Stanford. Swedish vessel, 4803 tons. Built 1928. Lbd  387.8 x 54.2 x 25.8 ft.  From London to Geraldton and Fremantle, via Rotterdam loaded with cement and coke and carrying a few passengers, wrecked on Africaine Reef south of Geraldton,  24 June 1936. After grounding, the S.S. Kodlinda stood by and took aboard the passengers and crew as she was battered in to a wreck by heavy seas. [LW],[ASW6]

Star. Cutter, 5 tons. Left Shark Bay for Geraldton on 5 April 1876 but failed to arrive. [LW]

Star. Wooden two masted schooner, 70 tons, Built 1876. Lbd 79 x 17.4 x 7.7 ft.  Struck a reef near the entrance to the Murray River, WA, and was lost, 23 October 1880. Her remains were located in 1973. [LW],[LAH - lost Manning River]

Star. Lugger. Sunk near Dirk Hartog Island, WA, 18 March 1958. [LW]

Star of Denmark. Iron barque. See Denton Holme.  [LW]

Start. Steamship, 65 tons. Built Fremantle 1876. Lbd 77.5 x 17.6 x 7.2 ft. Left Melbourne for Fremantle early in 1879, and sighted in a disabled condition was then not seen again. In May, wreckage from her was found at Israelite Bay east of Albany and it was thought she might have been lost on Pollock Reef about 50 nautical miles off shore. [LW]

Stefano. Barque, 875 tons. Built 1874. Croatian owned. Captain Bragia. From Dubrovnik to Cardiff for coal to Hong Kong, struck a reef a few miles south west of Point Cloates, WA, and within a few hours was a total wreck, 27 October 1875. Seven crew including the captain were drowned attempting to reach the shore, while the eight who survived were in a desperate plight, scantily clad and without food or weapons. As the vessel broke up a chart case floated ashore, enabling the survivors to discover that the nearest settlement was at Geraldton far to the south. Some food also drifted in and after remaining by the wreck for nearly three weeks the men decided to walk south, guided by friendly natives. After travelling about thirty kilometres they met another member of the crew who had been carried south by the current. He soon died, and after trudging a further 120 kilometres the remainder realised the task was beyond them and attempted to return to the wreck. Six more died, leaving only two. Again, natives assisted them despite some hostility, and they were carried to North West Cape where south bound pearling craft passed close inshore. On 12 April 1876, six months after the wreck, they were picked up by the cutter Jessie and landed at Fremantle. [LW],[LAH],[#GR]

Steiermark. See German raider Kormoran.

Stella Maris. Fishing vessel. Foundered off the WA coast on 6 December 1972. [LW]

Stella. Ketch, 80 ton. Lost ashore in a gale near Cottesloe, WA, July 1944. [LW]

Stewart. Iron barque, 912 tons. Built at Dundee, 1877. Lbd 202.5 x 34.2 x 19.1 ft.  From Liverpool to Port Chalmers, wrecked at  400 metres west of Port Colman near  Carnarvon, Western Australia, April 1901. [ASW6]

Stirling. Fishing boat. Wrecked at Cape Leschanault, WA, 19 June 1957. [LW]

Subiliana. Pearling vessel. Ashore in a gale over the inner reef at Beadon, Exmouth Gulf, WA, and was left high and dry, damaged beyond repair, Christmas Eve, 1875. All her crew escaped. [LW]

Success. HMS. Brought Captain James Stirling to the Swan River in 1827. Aground on a shoal which now bears her name, as she revisited the infant settlement, 28 November 1829. She was badly damaged, and extensive repairs took over a year. On safely ariving in England, the Admiralty were surprised at the excellent workmanship and quality of timbers used - the hardwood, jarrah. In 1965 a section of a rudder believed to be from the vessel was located off the southern end of Carnac island, together with cannon balls and iron fittings. [LI],{ASW1]

Sulina. Vessel of 1,142 tons. Built Nova Scotia 1866. Lbd  164.4 x 38.3 x 24.1 ft. Ashore and lost in a gale, Browse Island, WA, January 1879. [LW]

Swan. Schooner, 24 tons. Built 1865.  Ran on to a reef and lost when approaching Port Irwin, WA, 2 October 1869. [LW]

Swift. Ketch, 73 tons. Built 1883. Lbd 84.8 x 20.5 x 7.3 ft. Struck a reef and broke up when entering Twilight Cove, WA, late August 1896. [LW]

Sydney. Vessel of 900 tons. Captain Forrest. From Port Jackson to Bengal, foundered some hundred miles from the Admiralty Islands, 20 May 1806. Thus commenced an epic journey by the captain and crew in the longboat towing the jolly boat. An encounter with natives on the Admiralty Islands, who had apparently not seen a white man before, saw the loss of one crew member. They continued on, crossing the Flores Sea and emerging in the Indian Ocean. They eventually landed on an island off the west coast of Sumatra where they wre treated kindly, two months having passed since the loss of their ship. Robert Campbell was the owner of the Sydney, the same man who owned the Sydney Cove. [NH]

Sydney, HMAS. Light cruiser, 7105 tons. Built 1935. Lbd 550 x 56.8 x 15.8 ft. Armament: Eight 6 inch, eight 4 inch anti-aircraft, four 3 pounders, ten small guns, eight 21 inch torpedo tubes, one aircraft. Speed 32.5 knots. Sunk after enemy action against the German raider Kormoran, 150 nautical miles south west of Carnarvon, 19 November 1941. After demanding the secret call sign for a Dutch ship, and, being unable to reply the Kormoran quickly hauled down the Dutch flag and raised the German battle ensign as she opened fire. Within seconds a salvo from three guns struck the Sydney's bridge and fire control positions. Sydney replied but missed; the Kormoran fired again, registering hits which destroyed half the cruiser’s armament and the seaplane. The Kormoran next fired two torpedoes and one hit the Sydney up forward. The Sydney returned fire; at point blank range it was almost impossible to miss as the Sydney scored hits with her two aft turrets. Fires broke out as the Kormoran drifted out of control. The Sydney tried to ram her but missed. The Germans kept up a continuous fire and were recording hits on the cruiser every few seconds. Sydney, with her port quarter ablaze drifted away into the darkness, never to be seen again. The Kormoran was eventually abandoned at about 1 a.m. shortly before the fires reached the stored mines and they exploded. Survivors from the Kormoran, totalling 315 were eventually rescued by Australian search parties, but Sydney's entire complement of 42 officers and 603 ratings were lost. Conflicting evidence made it difficult to reconstruct exactly what happened on that night, and many unanswered questions remain. [LW],[LAH]

Takatoria Maru No 5. Japanese tuna trawler, 323 tons. Disappeared about 600 nautical miles west off Fremantle, February 1962. Twenty-seven on board. [LW]

Tamerlane. Hulk. Sank following a collision with S.S.Dimboola, 23 September 1918. [LW]

Tammy. Small craft. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 4 December, 1970. [LW]

Tamoris. French ship. Struck Penguin Island, WA, 9 March 1884. The crew landed on nearby Hog Island, and then set out for Possession islandd, but all were lost. [LW]

Tanais. Greek freighter, steel motor vessel, 2848 tons. Built 1959. Lbd 340.1 x 45.2 x 21.1 ft. Wrecked on  a reef , Cape Leschenault, forty nautical miles north of Fremantle, 13 September 1965. The sixteen man crew remained on board for several days whilst the pilot boat Lady Gardner and the cray boat Sandra tried to reach them in high seas. Eventually the cay boat was successful.  [LW],[LAH]

Tania Maree. Fishing boat. Destroyed by fire at Carnarvon, WA, 28 July 1976. [LW]

Taniwah. Wooden lugger, 15 tons. Lost in Roebuck Bay, January 1908. [LW]

Tanja. Fishing boat. Lost near Lancelin, WA, in a cyclone, 2-3 April 1966. [LW]

Tao Yuan Hai. Chinese ore carrier, 139,505 tonnes. Built Hamburg 1977 as the Australian Progress. Lbd 270 x 42.5 x 22.3 metres. Abandoned in the Indian Ocean about 1,800 nautical miles south west of Fremantle, 26 May 1990. The 38 crew transferred safely to a Japanese gas tanker. [LW]

Tarni-nepo. Small craft. Lost off the WA coast 8 January 1970. [LW]

Tasman. Fishing boat. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 30 June 1958. [LW]

Team Augwi. Tanker. Involved in rescue - see Greek freighter Maira, lost Indian Ocean, 1978.  [LAH]

Teresa. Fishing boat. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 8 August 1959. [LW]

Tersita Moa - see Moa. [LW]

Thames. Convict transport, wooden barque, 366 tons. Built 1818. Ashore in a gale on south coast WA coast, 22 May 1830.  [LW],[ASW1 - 400 tons],[LAH - lost June 1830]

The Brothers. Lugger, 15 tons. Lost near Dirk Hartog Island, 1925. [LW]

The Map. Fishing vessel. Destroyed by fire near Carnac Island, WA, 28 July 1972. [LW]

Thermoli. Small craft. Lost near Bunbury, WA, 9 July 1967. [LW]

Thetis. Schooner, 14 tons. Wrecked north of Augusta, WA, 10 June 1848. No lives lost. She may have been raised.  [LW],[ASW1]
Bateson suggests that this could be the same schooner as follows:
Thetis. Schooner. Ashore during a gale ‘three miles from Morton’s whaling station’, WA - a place which has not been identified, 19 July 1846. She may have been refloated. [ASW1]

Thistle. Three masted wooden barque, 1147 tons. Built at Pra, Italy 1883; reg. Fremantle. Lbd  209.6 x 36.6 x 22.8 ft. Left Bunbury for Durban, South Africa on 9 May 1903 and not seen again. [LW]

Thomas Nye. Wooden barque. See Day Dawn.

Thornliebank. Iron barque, 1311 tons. Built Glasgow, 1886. Lbd 240.8 x 36.8 x 21.2 ft. Gutted by fire in Owens Anchorage, 8 February 1890. When it was finally extinguished the vessel was found to be seriously damaged; she was used as a coal hulk until her remains were finally scuttled off Fremantle in 1928. [LW],[ASW6]

Thuraka. Three masted topsail schooner. In tow of SS Gundiah for Recherche Bay, WA,  when she struck Achaeon Reef, WA, and foundered, 1929. [LW]

Tide Runner. Small craft. Sprang a leak and beached, wrecked, near Cape Levillion, WA, 10 June 1971. [LW]

Tifera. Lugger, 13 tons. Lost off Eighty Mile Beach, WA, March 1923. [LW]

Tige. Fishing vessel. Ashore near Two Rocks, WA, 14 September 1972. [LW]

Tina. Fishing vessel. Lost off the WA coast on 19 March 1962. [LW]

Topgallant. Ketch. Destroyed by fire at Bunbury, WA, 10 November 1933. [LW]

Touella. Fishing vessel. Lost near Fremantle, 10 December 1962. [LW]

Trade Winds. Government work boat, 38 tons. Sank near Dampier, WA, during a cyclone, 2-3 April 1966. [LW]

Trader. Fishing vessel. Lost near Yanchep, WA, 10 April 1961. [LW]

Tribune. Cutter, 37 tons. Believed to have foundered near Point Samson, WA, while transhipping stock from the stranded steamer Rob Roy. [LW]

Triton. Trimaran. Destroyed in heavy weather off the Kimberly coast, WA, August 1990. Crew of two survived. [LW]

Tropic Queen. Steamer, 678 tons. Built in 1949; previously Chica, Song Be, Louis Frederic.  Sank 175 nautical miles north of the Montebello Islands, WA, 9 May 1975. The railway sleepers she carried as deck cargo had shifted, causing her to list sharply to port. The 17 crew took to the life rafts and were rescued. [LW]

Trude. Small craft. Burnt at Cape Lambert, WA, 4 November 1970. [LW]

True Blue. Cutter. Wrecked outside the bar at Mandurah, WA, 25 June 1897. [LW]

Tryal. British ship. East India Company vessel, approx. 500 tons. Sailed from Plymouth on 4 September 1621 for Batavia, on her maiden voyage. Master John Brooke. Struck rocks which now bear her name in the Monte Bello Islands, off the northern Western Australian coast, 25 May 1622. Thought to be the first European ship wrecked on the Australian coast, although there is argument that the Portuguese may have sighted the Australian coast, and could possibly have lost a vessel or two. (See Mahogany ship). The Tryal left Plymouth for Java on 4 September 1621 with 143 pewrsons on board and called at the Cape of Good Hope, hoping to persuade the mate of another East India Company vessel which had been to Batavia to join the Tryal as pilot. The plan was unsuccessful and the vessel sailed from the Cape on 19 March 1622, heading east. In fine weather and a flat sea the Tryal struck a rock and sank rapidly. Brooke immediately deserted his ship and crew. At least ninety-five lost from the complement of 143.  [LW],[NH],[#HH2@],[ASW1]
@ Divers found her remains near the outer edge of the Monte Bello Islands in 1969. [LAH]

Tudor. Lugger. Capsized in a squall south west of Cape Boissett, WA, 27 April 1904. [LW]

Twilight. Cutter. Ashore and lost in a gale, Twilight Cove near Eucla, WA, 24 May 1877. [LW]

Twinkling Star. Schooner, 59 tons. Built Calcutta 1868. Captain Long. Wrecked at Garden Island, WA,  30 January 1873. [LW]

Two Friends. Schooner, 15 tons. Left Geraldton on 6 August 1925 with a crew of three and disappeared. [LW]

Two Sons. Vessl of 16 tons. Foundered in Shark Bay, WA, 13 January 1902; while on a voyage from Flint Cliff to Denham with sandalwood. [LW]

U-862. German submarine. Built at Bremen in 1943. Displacement, 1616 tons surfaced; 1804 tons submerged. Lbd 287.5 x 24.5 x 17.8 ft. Her main armament was six torpedo tubes and 40 mines. Sank the Liberty ship Peter Silvester 6 February 1945, 700 nautical miles west of Fremantle. Taken over by the Japanese after the German surrender in May 1945 and was at Singapore in August 1945 when Japan surrendered. Scuttled off Singapore on 12 February 1946. [LW]

Undine. Schooner. See schooner Ruby, lost 1890. [LW]

Uno. Lugger. Lost off the WA coast, May 1891. [LW]

Valkyrie. Fishing boat. Overturned by a freak wave off Lucky Bay, WA, 2 July 1958. [LW]

Valma. Small craft. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 20 November 1970. [LW]

Venture. Brigantine, 167 tons. Built 1817. Lbd  91.2 x 25 x 10.1 ft. Wrecked in Cygnet Bay, King George Sound, WA, November 1890. [LW],[ASR]

Venus. Lugger. Operating out of Roebourne, was believed lost during 1887. [LW]

Venus. Wooden steamer, 62 tons. Lbd 73.6 x 18.8 x 6.3 ft. Wrecked north of Moore River, WA,  23 August 1923. Two lives lost. [LW]

Vera B. Fishing vessel. Swamped and sunk by high seas off Wedge Island, WA, 24 March 1961. [LW]

Vergulde Draeck. (Gilt Dragon) Dutch vessel. Captain Pieter Albertsz. Lbd 137 x 32 x 13.5 ft. Wrecked at the mouth of the Moore River near Cape Leschenault, Western Australia, 28 April 1656. Exact position known. Divers found the wreck in  1963 - the first underwater discovery of a seventeenth century Dutch ship in Australian waters. She sailed from Texel, Netherlands, on 4 October 1655 with more than 200 passengers and crew and a rich cargo which included 78,600 guilders. On striking rocks, the ship broke up immediately; many drowned, probably over 100. The survivors, including the captain reached the shore in two boats, one of which was severely damaged when it capsized in the surf. Albertsz, realising that the ship had been wrecked so far south that the chances of being rescued by a passing vessel were remote sent the second mate and six others in the good boat to seek help at Batavia. Their luck held and they arrived there on 7 June. Two ships, the Witte Valk (White Falcon), and Goede Hoop (Good Hope), set out to rescue the survivors but they became separated in a storm, and one lost a boat and eleven men after they landed on the Australian coast to carry out their search. When the rescuers reached the spot where the Vergulde Draeck was thought to have been wrecked, she and the survivors had disappeared and all they found were pieces of wreckage. In June of the following year the boat Vinck, from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia coasted along the shoreline but saw nothing. In 1658 two more vessels, the Wackende Boey and the Emeloot, made another attempt to find the 67 survivors and found what appeared to be the castaways' original camp. While sailing along the coast they fired signal guns and saw many fires on shore without establishing contact with any of the missing sailors.
[LW],[NH],[#MJ],[#HH2],[ASW1]
@ Site discovered in 1963 when many coins were recovered. Following extensive looting this site was excavated by the W.A. Museum in 1972 and material displayed at Fremantle includes elephant tusks, wood, leather shoes and cannon balls. She lies on a reef off Ledge Point. [LAH]

Veronica. Lugger. Lost on Sunday Island, WA, July 1928.

Veronica. Lugger. Lost near Sunday Island., WA, 1926 [LW]

Vianen. Dutch vessel. Master Gerrit Frederickzoon de Witt. Driven on to a sandbank somewhwre near  present-day Port Hedland, 1628. Copper bars and a cargo of pepper were thrown overboard and the ship floated free. The master described the coast as being “foul and barren, with very wild, black and barbarous natives”. [HH2]

Vicki Anne. Fishing vessel. Foundered near Point Sampson,WA, on 4 February 1973. [LW]

Victory. Cutter, 24 tons. Wrecked at West Cape Howe, WA, June 1875. [LW]

Victory. Fishing vessel. Lost near Geraldton, WA, 6 March 1960. [LW]

Viking. Fishing boat. Foundered off WA coast, 5 September 1958. [LW]

Viking. Fishing boat. Lost at Geraldton, WA, 13 September 1969. [LW]

Villalta. Iron barque, 906 tons. Built Glasgow 1883. Lbd 199.5 x 32.7 x 20.3 ft. Wrecked on to Leschenault Reef about 60 nautical miles north of Fremantle, 26 February 1897. [LW]

Ville De Rouen. Steel barque, 1303 tons. Built at St. Nazaire, France, 1891; reg. France. Lbd 219.4 x 34.6 x 16.2 ft.  Ffrom Cardiff to Fremantle, wrecked near Moore River, WA, 30 October 1901. An attempt to salvage the ship was abandoned when the French crew refused to assist. Most of her cargo of fire bricks, iron, coke, choice wines and champagne was lost. [LW]

Vixen. Schooner, 43 tons. Built 1840.72 x 20 x 6 ft. Ashore near Fremantle in a gale, 1848. Ten lives lost. [LW],[ASW1 - eight lives lost]

Voladora. Mission lugger. Wrecked near the mouth of the Berkley River, WA, 25 September 1926. [LW]

Vyanen. Dutch vessel. Ashore near present day Port Hedland but was soon refloated, 1628. [LW]

Wackende Boey. Dutch vessel. Captain Samuel Volkersen. Sent out to search for the Vergulde Draeck, lost on the Westrn Australian coast in 1656. They may have seen wreckage from the Verguilde Draeck, but lost sight of it in a storm and could not find it again. The captain was charged and jailed for gross negligence.  [HH2]

Wahini. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost near Murchison River, WA, 29 November 1963. [LW]

Wai-titi. Fishing vessel. Wrecked on Garden Island, WA, 16 August 1975. [LW]

Wallaroo. HMAS, minesweeper-corvette, 650 tons. Built 1942. Lbd 186 x 31 x 8.5 ft. Armed with one 4 inch gun and several smaller weapons, and carried a normal complement of 70 at a top speed of 15 knots. Sank 60 nautical miles west of Fremantle after colliding with the American merchant ship Henry Gilbert Costin, 10 June 1943. The Wallaroo, Henry Gilbert Costin and John G. Whittier had left Fremantle hours earlier with orders to disperse at midnight, and after nightfall the three ships were darkened, steaming in column as pre- arranged. At the appointed time, as the Wallaroo turned to leave the convoy, the merchant ship struck her on the starboard, killing two ratings, and throwing one overboard, where he drowned. The Wallaroo lay hove to, stern to sea, but as the weather worsened she capsized and sank, allowing time for the crew to get clear. Meanwhile, the Henry Gilbert Costin, unaware of the Wallaroo's plight returned to Fremantle. An air and sea search picked up all survivors on the 11th. [LW],[LAH]

Wambiri. Tug. Involved in rescues - see Cebu Sampaguita, 1992; Botany Trinity, 1993. [LW]

Wanderer 11. Fishing boat. Disappeared off Fremantle, early October 1949. [LW]

Wanderer. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost near Cervantes, WA, 24 February 1964. [LW]

Waratah. Lugger. Ashore in a cyclone on Steamboat Island near Cossack, WA, March 1889. All crew lost. [LW]

Warren. Fishing ketch. Wrecked near Ledge Point, WA, 18 November 1930. Crew of three swam ashore. [LW]

Water Bearer. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost near Lancelin, WA, 20 March 1963. [LW]

Water Lily. Steam tug, 52 tons. Built Rutherglen, Scotland, 1875. Lbd 85.2 x 14.2 x 7.3 ft. Sank in deep water after springing a leak about 15 nautical miles from Bunbury, 1 Februaary, 1907. She was under tow from Hamelin by the Vigilant. [LW]

Waterwitch. Ketch. Lost near Port Gregory, WA, 10 July 1957. [LW]

Wave. Vessel type not indicated. From Adelaide to Albany, WA, wrecked at Cheynes beach, Albany, 4 July 1848.  A storm was happening at the time but there was some suggestion of a deliberate wrecking for insurance purpsoes. No loss of life. Crew picked up by the vessel Champion. [ASW1]

Wayfarer. Fishing boat. Lost near Lancelin, WA, in a cyclone, 2-3 April 1966. [LW]

Welsh Dragon. Fishing vessel. Destroyed by fire off Port Gregory, WA, 10 December 1961. [LW]

Weseltje. Dutch vessel. See entry under Geelvinck. [HH2]

West Wind. Fishing vessel. Lost at Quinn’s Rocks, WA, 11 November 1962. [LW]

Why Not. Lugger, 12 tons. Lost at Cape Frezier, WA, 17 March 1920. [LW]

Wickham. Steel tug, 343 tons.  Built 1972. Lbd  32 x 10.1 x 4.5 meters. Stranded at Cape Lambert, WA,  during a cyclone and was later declared a total loss, 1990. [LW]

Wild Rose. Fishing boat. Lost near Fremantle, 19 June 1957. [LW]

Wild Wave. Brig, 191 tons. Built Guernsey, England 1854, and originally named China. Lbd 103.6 x 24.4 x 12.9 ft.  Ashore, lost on the Montebello Reefs off WA, November 1873. All 27 passengers and crew of 15 reached safety. [LW]

Wild Wave. Pearling vessel, 27 tons.  Captain Watson Wrecked on a reef in a gale, Exmouth Gulf, Christmas Eve, 1875. The owner, the captain and 28 Malays were drowned. One white man and 13 natives who had clung to the wreck through the night were rescued next morning. [LW]

Will Watch. Cutter, 27 tons. Wrecked at Carnarvon, WA, during December 1909. [LW]

Will-O-Wisp. Fishing boat. Lost off the WA coast, early January 1965. [LW]

William Henry. Fishing boat. Lost near Yanchep, WA, while under tow, 10 June 1966. [LW]

Willie. Schooner, 30 tons. Built Fremantle 1879.  Lbd 51 x 15.7 x 7.1 feet. Wrecked ashore Cygnet Bay during a gale, 7 March 1900. [LW]

Willyama. Steamer. Involved in rescue - see Boveric, 19022. [LW]

Win Fu Ace. Taiwanese fishing boat. Sank 1000 nautical miles off WA coast, 24 October 1986. The crew of 17 took to a lifeboat but sea and air searchers found only scattered wreckage.  [LW]

Witte Val. (White Falcon). Dutch vessel.. Sent out to search for the Vergulde Draeck, lost on the Western Australian coast in 1656. They were unsucessful.  [HH2]

Wolf. German raider. See Dee, 1918. [LW]

Wyola. Tug. Involved in rescue - see Cebu Sampaguita, 1992. [LW]

Xantho. Paddle steamer. Built Dumbarton, UK, 1848. Lbd 114.5 x 17.8 x 7.6 ft. Sank at Port Gregory, 17 November 1872. She was  the was the first steamer to operate around the Western Australian coast.  [LW]
@ Her remains were located in 1979 and the Western Australian Museum carried out extensive excacuations. [LAH - Zantho]

Yadrakka. Small craft, possibly fishing vessel. Lost near Ledge Point, WA, 31 March 1963. [LW]

Young Shepherd. Schooner, 15 tons. Sank after striking a reef near the mouth of the Murray River, WA, 15 May 1847. [LW]

Young Victorian. Blown out to sea in a cyclone and disappeared with five aboard, Forestier Island near Cossack, north west coast, WA, 1878. [LW]

Yule. Cutter, 17 tons. Wrecked ashore at Cossack, WA, 1889. [LW]
Also listed:
Yule, Cutter, 17, Fremantle, 1874. Broken up Cossack, WA, July 1891. [ASR]

Yule. Cutter, 13 tons. Lost near Port Hedland, WA, 21 September 1922. [LW]

Zedora. Barque, 269 tons. Built North Devon, UK, 1869. Lbd 117.7 x 25 x 14.8 ft. Captain Hodges.  From Mauritius to Adelaide, struck Stragglers Reef near Fremantle and was abandoned almost immediately as heavy seas battered her, 10 February 1875. When about 400 kilometres west of Fremantle a squall three her on her beam ends and shifted her ballast, hence a course was set for the mainland. [LW]
@ Her remains lying in about eight metres of water west of Mewstone Rock was found by diver/author Hugh Edwards in 1957. [LAH]

Zeehaan. Dutch vessel. See Heemskerck. [HH2]

Zeemeeu. Dutch vessel. See Limmen.

Zeewijk. See Zeewyk.

Zeewolf. Dutch vessel. Captain Claeszoon. Sighted the Australian coast near present day North West Cape, WA,1618. [LW]

Zelma. Fishing boat. Foundered in the Dampier Archipelago, WA, 20 July 1990. Crew rescued by the tanker Australian Spirit two days later. [LW]

Zinita. Barque, 1525 tons. Collided with and sank the iron baarque Coimbatore, 200 nautical miles off Cape Leeuwin, WA, 25 December 1905. Her bowsprit and gear carried away but she reached port safely.  [LW]

Zuytdorp. Dutch ship, 500 tons. Built 1701. Est lbd 160 x 40 x 17 ft. Owned by the Chamber of Zeeland; sailed on her maiden voyage to Batavia on 15 January 1702. Master Marinus Wysvliet. Wrecked near the Murchison river, Western Australia, 1712. Position known. She had left Vlissingen, Netherlands on 27 July 1711, and disappeared without trace.Relics found by stationhand Tom Pepper in 1927 suggested survivors from a shipwreck. Dates on coins linked the shipwreck relics to the Zuytdorp which disappeared in 1712 after leaving the Cape of Good Hope for Batavia on 22 April, carrying about 250,000 guilders and in company with the ship Kockenge. After the ships became separated the Kockenge arrived at Batavia on 4 July but the Zuytdorp was not seen again, and her fate remained a mystery for more than 200 years. Zuytdorp - The wreck site was identified in 1958 when cannon, anchors and various artefacts were discovered. Although in a most inhospitable location, the Western Australian Musuem has recovered a bronze cannon, ship’s bell and thousands of coins.
[LW],LI],[NH],#MJ],[#HH2],[ASW1],[LAH]

Zvir. Steel steamer, 3381 tons. Built Sunderland 1901. Owned by Austrian interests. Lbd 330 x 48 x 26.1 ft. Wrecked ashore Point Cloates, 27 November 1902. The captain and crew left her in three boats which they beached about 16 kilometres from the mouth of the Gascoyne River and continued their journey on foot. Within three months the wreck had completely broken up and disappeared. [LW],[LAH]

UNIDENTIFIED

Unidentified. A survey party in the cutter Colonist found wreckage from an unknown vessel in Champion Bay, WA, 1830. [LW]

Unidentified.. The crew of the brig Charlotte sighted a waterlogged, unidentified derelict east of Cape Leeuwin, 1840. [LW]

Unidentified.. When Eyre was make his historic crossing of the Nullabor Plain in 1841 he noticed a large quantity of wreckage on shore in the vicinity of present day Scorpion Bight. An Aboriginal legend claimed that a ship had been lost nearby many years earlier. More wreckage, supposed from this vessel was located in the mid 1970's. She may have been a sealer or a whaler. [LW]

Unidentified.. Portion of a burnt derelict was sighted near Champion Bay, WA, 1851. [LW]

Unidentified.. An unidentified wreck was sighted south of Champion Bay, WA, 1854. [LW]

Unidentified.. Remains of a ship and some cargo were sighted in King George Sound, WA, 1857. [LW]

Unidentified.. Shipwrecked seamen sighted wreckage and cargo on the beach south of Geraldton, WA, 1861. [LW]

Unidentified. An unidentified hull of a vessel, apparently a brig, was seen on the beach near North West Cape, WA, May 1879.  [LW]

Unidentified. On 27 June 1881, the barque Cynisca, from London to Sydney passed portion of the forepart of a vessel, another piece about 30 metres long, and sections of bulwarks off Cape Leeuwin. They were never identified. [LW]

Unidentified. A quantity of wreckage was washed ashore on the beach at Coventry Reef near Perth late in February, 1882. [LW]

Unidentified. 1883. On 26 February 1883 the lower mast of a small vessel was seen floating in the sea by the crew of SS Rob Roy off the Montebello Islands. [LW]

Unidentified. 1883. A cyclone destroyed two pearling luggers near Roebourne on 8 February, 1883. [LW]

Unidentified. 1889. Pieces of an old ship, found part buried in the sand near Point Cloates, WA,  were never identified. [LW]

Unidentified. 1889. The ship Star Of Australia passed part of a ship's lifeboat, painted white, which had not been long in the water, south-west of Cape Leeuwin, 18 April 1889. [LW]

Unidentified. 1893. When about 40 nautical miles due south of Cape Leeuwin, the barque  Kirkloch sailed through wreckage comprising ship’s spars and huge logs of timber, 24 September 1893. [LW]

Unidentified. 1896. Portion of a vessel was washed ashore at Cape Leeuwin on 17 June 1896. [LW]

Unidentified. 1898. Early in December 1898, the upper part of a deck house bearing the name "NECK, BREMEN" washed ashore at Scorpion Bight. [LW]

Unidentified. 1898. The remains of a ship's dinghy, some planks, a door and a seat, the latter partly burned, were picked up on Cheyne’s Beach near Albany, WA,  on 15 June 1898. [LW]

Unidentified. 1899. Late in July 1899 the master of the steamer Cambria reported that his vessel had passed a boat wrecked about 60 kilomtres from Bunbury, opposite Lake Clifton. The police from Bunbury discovered a mast, stays, boom, decking, gunwales and part of the keel. A quantity of timber was washed ashore with a five gallon water keg and several whisky cases. More wreckage was strewn along the beach for about a kilometre.  [LW]

Unidentified. 1899. When the R.M.S.Arcadia arrived at Albany on 20 November, 1899, the master reported sighting what appeared to be a mast close under White Top Rock, about 150 kilometres west of Albany. [LW]

Unidentified.. An unidentified wreck in the Osborne Islands, WA, was believed to have been there since c.1900. [LW]

Unidentified. A fisherman sighted the remains of an old ship off Dorre Island in 1905 but it was never identified. [LW]

Unidentified. Lugger. Wrecked on Airlie Island, WA, mid August 1928. This may have been the Rosabud. [LW]

Unidentified. Yacht. Three drowned when it overturned near Rockingham on 20 May 1930. Two clung to the wreckage until rescued. [LW]

Unidentified. Rottnest Hydroplane, 51 tons. Built in the U.S.A. in 1944 she was purchased by the R.A.N., then used as a search and rescue vessel by the R.A.A.F. Lbd 62.3 x 15.2 x 7.5 ft. On fire and adrift near the Barrack Street Jetty, Perth, 8 June 1975. Burnt to the waterline and later sank near the jetty; later the hull was raised and sold for its fittings. [LW]
Unidentified. Fishing ketch. Foundered near Carnarvon, WA, 21 August 1955. [LW]

Unidentified. Japanese trawler. Destroyed by fire off the WA coast, December 1963. Twenty survivors were landed at Fremantle on 23 December by the Caltex Brisbane. [LW]

Unidentified. A wreck was discovered on the south western side of Cassini Island, WA, 1967. [LW]

Unidentified. 1971. Remains of an iron vessel were reported near Middle Osborne Island, Admiralty Gulf, WA. The deck beams, portion of her hull and a boiler uptake stack are recognisable. The remains have been decalred hsitoric. [LAH]

Unidentified. 1976. An unidentified wreck was reported in 1976 near the abandoned Eyre Telegraph Repeater Station, reinforcing Aboriginal legend that a vessel had been wrecked around the 1840s. The vessel could be linked with the loss of the wahler Carib, supposedly wrecked on this barren coastline in May 1837.  [LAH]

Unidentified. 1978. The remains of a wooden vessel in shallow water was discovered by divers off Ningaloo. North West Cape, in 1978. Initially thought to have been the British barque Mercury, lost Calcutta to King George Sound in 1833. [LAH]
Since publication of LAH, the vessel has been identified as the Americal vessel, Rapid.

Unidentified. Catamaran. Lost near Carnarvon, WA, 30 September 1986. [LW]

Unidentified.. Fishing vessel. Wrecked near Shark Bay, WA, 4 June 1987. Loss of one life. [LW]

Unidentified.Fishing vessel. Sank off Esperance, WA, 9 August 1988. Crew of three saved.  [LW]



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