Shipwrecks of Western Australia
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Over 1400 ships have been wrecked on the coast of Western Australia. This very large number of Shipwrecks of Western Australia is due to a number of factors, including
- a long and very rocky coastline
- at certain times of the year powerful storms and gales are very common
- the tendency of sailors in the 1600s and 1700ss to reduce their travel time by keeping their ships in the "Roaring Forties" for as long as possible; ships that failed to turn north in time were wrecked on the coast of Western Australia.
Most listings of wrecks group wrecks into regions, areas or adjacent capes and coastal features, so as to divide the large number into manageable collections.
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[edit] Early Wrecks
The first known wreck was the Tryall in 1622, which occurred in the era before annexation of the land into a British Colony.
Other notable wrecks include Batavia, Zuytdorp, Vergulde Draeck, Cervantes, SS Georgette and HMAS Sydney.
[edit] Timeline
- 1622 Tryall
- 1629 Batavia, Dutch VOC merchant sailing ship
- 1656 Vergulde Draeck, Dutch VOC merchant sailing ship
- 1727 Zeewijk location Houtman Abrolhos.
- 1912 Koombana, off Port Hedland
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Henderson, Graeme (1988). Unfinished Voyages: Western Australian Shipwrecks 1851–1880. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press.
