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7 Fraser Island Shipwrecks

But what makes this island so historic? Well, these lakes and beaches are not things that made Fraser Island popular. In fact, this is served as a home to a total of 23 shipwrecks that happened centuries ago. While only one of them became a tourist attraction, most of these ships are indeed worth remembering.

To make your tour in Fraser Island memorable, here are some of the shipwrecks that are worth remembering. As added information, you would even know how old this place is because of the dates when these ships reached Fraser Island.

1. The SS Maheno
Built in 1905, SS Maheno was considered to be one of the first turbine-driven steamers. This had a regular route between Sydney and Auckland until it was made to be a hospital ship in Europe during World War I. In addition to that, this also sailed in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

However, during 1935, this and a sister ship named Oonah were sold as scraps to Japan. The rudders of the ship were removed and were towed to Japans. Unfortunately, when they reached the Queensland Waters, they faced cyclonic storm that snapped its tow chain. With that, the SS Maheno helplessly drifted onto the Fraser Island’s ocean beach.

2. The Seabell
The Seabell was recorded to be one of the first ships that were stranded in Fraser Island. It was said that this 158-ton schooner left Rockhampton on 7 March 1857 and was destroyed the day after on the Breaksea Spit, the north-eastern tip of the island.

3. The Panama
The Panama is an American sailing ship that hit Breaksea Spit and was then beached at Rooney’s Point in 1864. The survivors of this vessel camped by the beach but returned to the ship when Aborigines (settlers of Fraser Island) entered their camp and stole their goods. Later on, this tribe tried to get on board but were stopped by the sailors. So after several days, the captain and some crew escaped in a lifeboat and were picked up near Woody Island.

4. The Sterling Castle
While travelling from Sydney to London in 1836, the Sterling Castle was hit by a coral reef that was just about the north of Fraser Island. This longboat containing a crew, Captain James Fraser and his wife Eliza was drifted near Waddy Point.

 Half of the party walked south and was then rescued by the hunters from Moreton Bay. On the other hand, the others lived with the Aborigines for about seven weeks. Then a rescue team was set out to save this other half from the tribe. Sadly, only Eliza and three survivors were only rescued as their Captain died during the captivity.

5. The Investigator
The Investigator was owned by the explorer Matthew Flinders who was recorded to be the first European to land on Fraser Island. Aside from exploring the Cooloola Coast in 1802, they also landed near Great Sandy Cape so that his naturalists could collect botanic samples. From there, his crew had created friendly meeting with the Aborigines, exchanging presents of fish nets and hatchets.

6. The Armac
Armac was another Breaksea Spit victim. During 1904, it bumped hard several times on the sand spit but still continued to sail. But after reaching 24 kilometres, it was already leaking badly. The crew and passengers decided to take the boats and flee to safety. In goodwill, they were able to reach Burnett Heads and Baffle Point. These men remained on board until they became protected by the people of Platypus Bay.

7. The Marloo
Marloo is a luxury Italian liner that hit the shoal of Sandy Cape in September 27, 1914. Luckily this cargo was safely laid ashore and help was immediately sought from the people of near the lighthouse of Sandy Cape. However, their cargo of whiskey bottles and green tomatoes were scattered all over the beach.

Definitely Fraser Island is not only known for the beaches and lakes, this also holds memorable memories that contributed to its formation.

German Niles

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