South West Life

Koombana Bay, in Bunbury, has witnessed 29 shipwrecks throughout history. Here's a few details.

First of all, let's paint a picture of what Koombana Bay was like back in the 1800s. Very different from what it looks like now.

For starters, the ocean nearby regularly had schools of up to 200 whales, and that brought American whaling ships ("whalers"). In addition to the whalers, there were often many tall ships sailing around. Ships often sailed out of the area loaded with wool, timber, and horses, sometimes heading off on a 4 month journey to England.

And not only was the marine traffic very different, so was the shoreline. The shape of the land has changed so much that some of the 29 shipwrecks are now buried under land.

The first three recorded shipwrecks occured on the same day, during the same storm, in 1840. The Samuel Wright, a 33.5 metre long wooden vessel, and considered one of America's best whalers, went down in a storm along with the North America and another unknown ship.

Three years later, in 1843, the North America (another ship of the same name) crashed onto the shore during a gale. It was repaired and refloated, but only 2 months later it went aground again - for good this time - quite close to the remains of the Samuel Wright.

By the 1890's, there were many complaints about the number of wrecks that were occuring, and so a breakwater was built to protect ships in the bay. This is presumed to have contributed to such a change in the shape of the bay and the build up of sand in some places.

But the wrecks continued. And not just American whalers. An Australian ship, the Laughing Wave, was a wooden brig with a crew of six that was built in Fremantle in 1868. It was completely wrecked during a storm in 1903, when it was smashed against the timber jetty.

Other ships that have unfortunately met their end in Koombana Bay include the Solglyt, Carbet Castle, Star of the South, Cingalee, Citizen of London, Annie M. Young, Midas, and Elizabeth.

Out of the 29 shipwrecks in Koombana Bay, only about 12 remain. Some of the wrecks that are now half buried in the land can be seen around the place. A good place to have a look at a couple is at the Mangrove Walk in Bunbury. The whaler sites in the bay are now protected as historic wrecks.

To add a bit of somberness to this history, at the Mangrove Walk in Bunbury there is an unknown grave which is believed to be that of a sailor from the American whaler Hercules. The story is that he fell overboard and drowned.

The gravesite and a couple of shipwrecks can be found across the road from the Dolphin Discovery Centre on Koombana Drive, Bunbury.