Shipwrecks
Coral Coast collections hold a treasure-trove of artefacts related to the shipwrecks littered along Western Australian shores. Many of the artefacts have been recovered from deep beneath the waves, offering secrets to daring exploratory voyages, trade missions and wartime battles.
Perhaps the largest collection of artefacts, spread over several collections, relates to the World War II battleship the HMAS Sydney (II). This once-triumphant warship and her crew of 645 men sank off Shark Bay after a battle with the German raider ship HSK Kormoran in November 1941.
The Sydney – Kormoran story is told in the poignant and affecting From Great Depths exhibition in the Museum of Geraldton, which includes an extraordinary 3D film of the same name.
Just a month before her demise, Sydney had visited Geraldton, attracting adoring crowds of well-wishers. An entry in a historic Midwest Port Authority shipping register records the ship’s visit and is viewable today at the City of Greater Geraldton’s Local Studies collection.
Within a month the Sydney fought its final battle, in which all 645 men were lost. However, some 318 of the 399 men aboard the Kormoran survived. Most of the survivors reached shore near Carnarvon, aboard lifeboats. You can see one of these lifeboats at the Carnarvon Heritage Precinct.
Such was the devastation at the loss of the Sydney, that people across the country despaired – including a fellow we know only as George. George hand-painted a picture of the Sydney on a shell and sent it to his mother. You can see the lovingly created artefact at Birdwood Military Museum in Geraldton.
Head further north again to the Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery Centre to gain still more insight into ships lost to watery graves, including more on the Sydney -Kormoran story in the Fire on the Water exhibition.
The Sydney is just one of several shipwrecks to feature in Coral Coast collections. Lesser-known wrecks such as the Europa are also brought to life through artefacts and accompanying stories.
The Cervantes Historical Society Museum collection includes a remarkably intact tureen which survived the 1897 wreckage of the Europa and lay abandoned underwater for nearly 80 years offshore from Cervantes.
The Museum of Geraldton includes more fascinating shipwreck tales. The Museum showcases a trove of artefacts related to the infamous Batavia shipwreck, the demise of which sparked one of the most gruesome tales in maritime history. Artefacts, like a tobacco tin which survived the wreckage of the Zeewijk in 1727 at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands., remind us of the lives of these people.
Back at the Shark Bay World Heritage interpretive centre you’ll also gain an insight one of the biggest wooden vessels to have ever visited Western Australia - the Gudren, wrecked off Shark Bay in 1901.
The collection features the Gudren’s wooden figurehead, which depicts a woman, complete with voluptuous curves and flowing robes.
The Shark Bay collection also features silver coins collected from among the long-lost treasures of the Dutch East India ship the Zuytdorp. The ship sank off treacherous cliffs north of Kalbarri in 1712, carrying a rich cargo, including silver bullion.
