Illawarra Wrecked: Unearthing the Secrets of Our Coastal Graveyard
The Illawarra Coal Coast is celebrated worldwide for its dramatic landscapes, but beneath the breaking waves lies a far more solemn history. During the 19th and 20th centuries, our storm-prone coastline became the backdrop for dozens of maritime disasters. From open-ocean jetties built from hollow tea-tree timber to ships carrying thousands of cases of brandy, the seafloor between Stanwell Park and Bass Point is a literal graveyard of maritime history.
On the latest history episode of the Current Conversations Podcast, host Kurtis Ocean sat down with his mate Gabe to unpack the region's top ten most iconic and tragic shipwrecks. If you have ever stood on the headlands looking out at the Pacific, this countdown will completely alter how you view our local waters.
The Inner Reefs: Navigating Bellambi's Bermuda Triangle
When it comes to sheer notoriety, no stretch of our coastline has claimed more vessels than Bellambi. Statistically recognized as the Illawarra's deadliest shipwreck zone, at least 17 of 20 known regional shipwrecks met their final fate right here. It is a treacherous patch of shallow reef that locals and historians frequently refer to as our very own "Bermuda Triangle".
If you want to feel the history of this zone underfoot, take a walk down to the modern Bellambi Boat Ramp. Standing on the shore today, it is hard to picture the sheer volume of shipping traffic that once dominated this point. At its peak, the Coal Coast exported over 1.9 million tonnes of coal a year. To handle the demand, early industrial pioneers cut corners, constructing lopsided, dangerous jetties out of hollow tea-tree piles that easily succumbed to the ocean.
The graveyard claimed everything from the SS Resolute in 1907—doomed by a simple navigation error on the reef—to the SS Manmora in 1949, which became the final "60-miler" lost at Bellambi before the expansion of the railways put an end to the open-ocean coal run.
Capital Disasters: The Tragic Invert of the SS Bombo
While many coastal wrecks were caused by ships running aground on shallow rock shelves, the single deadliest maritime disaster in Illawarra history happened out in deep water. On the afternoon of 22 February 1949, the SS Bombo, a 540-tonne steel collier carrying crushed blue metal from Kiama to Sydney, was struck by a ferocious southerly buster just past the Five Islands off Port Kembla.
Blinded by heavy rain and battered by 20-foot waves, the crew watched in horror as the heavy cargo completely shifted to one side. Slowed down to a walking pace of just 5 kilometres per hour, the vessel struggled for six hours to crawl back to safety. Just north of Wollongong, the ship suddenly "turned turtle," capsizing and sinking within a single minute. Of the 14 men on deck, 12 drowned in the mountainous seas.
Remarkably, the only non-human crew member survived. Brownie, the lucky ship dog, who had been trapped on the lower deck when the humans jumped ship, was found washed up alive on Bulli Beach, covered in grease and sand. Today, the Bombo remains a highly protected deep-dive site. For a land-based connection to the tragedy, you can visit the solemn memorial plaques located near the Wollongong Headland Lighthouse, looking out over the exact waters where the ship went under.
The Stone Fleet Graveyard: Bass Point's Coastal Cascades
Further south lies Bass Point Reserve in Shellharbour—a spectacular, rugged peninsula that is globally renowned among scuba divers. But long before it became a popular marine sanctuary, Bass Point was a notorious black spot for the "Stone Fleet". Between 1879 and 1943, at least six major vessels were completely destroyed on these jagged reefs alone.
The site features a diverse cross-section of maritime history, including the timber-framed sailing schooner Bertha in 1879 and the SS Comboin in 1920, a mystery wreck that sank rapidly in perfectly clear weather after supposedly striking an uncharted pinnacle reef.
But the most heroic story etched into the stone at Bass Point occurred during World War II. On 16 May 1943, the Cities Service Boston, a massive 9,000-tonne American oil tanker hugging the coastline to evade patrolling Japanese submarines, was driven onto the rocks by a violent storm. Soldiers from the 16th Machine Gun Battalion camped nearby rushed into the pitch black, forming a courageous human chain through the surf. They successfully rescued all 62 American seamen, though tragically, four young Australian soldiers drowned when a massive wave swept them into the sea.
Today, a stunning memorial pathway loops around the headland at Bass Point, allowing visitors to pay their respects at the plaque honoring those brave soldiers. The wreckage itself still rests in just 6 to 10 metres of water, creating an extraordinary artificial reef teeming with local marine life.
Catch the Conversation
To hear Gabe and Kurtis break down the full list—including the hilarious, drunken looting of the Queen of Nations in 1881 at Tarrawanna Reef—listen to the full episode, “Illawarra Wrecked // Top 10 Shipwrecks".