Shipwrecks in the Coal Trade

As discussed elsewhere, there existed substantial risk to the jetties along the exposed coast, and to those working on them.  The risk however was even greater for the vessels which plied their trade through these jetties.  They were generically known as the “sixty milers” – those ships carrying coal from ports (around the said distance) north and south to Sydney for both local consumption, and the bunkering of larger ocean-going ships berthed in Sydney.

Most of the ships listed were lost in the area of Bellambi beach.  The area around there, while often a picturesque and peaceful sight, was at times very dangerous, and a major black spot for shipping.  

The table below lists twenty colliers which traded along the Illawarra coast, and were lost.  All but three (Buonaparte, Waniora and Waratah) were wrecked at Bellambi Bay.  Another Bellambi casualty, not on that list, was the Hannah – a vessel in transit from Shoalhaven to Sydney with a cargo of food, which was wrecked half a mile north of the Bellambi jetty in 1870.

YEAR	VESSEL	TYPE OF SHIP	DETAIL
1859	Excelsior	Barque
1859	Helen	Cutter	4th September
1859	Victoria Packet	Barque	4th September
1860	Ocean Queen	Brigantine
1860	Prospector	Schooner	18th November
1863	Duke of Wellington	Schooner	15th June capsized
1864	Reaper	Schooner	12th June
1864	Breadalbane	Barque	1st October
1864	Buonaparte	Schooner	17th Nov. Sank at sea
1881	Queen of Nations	Barque
1882	Llewellen	Steamship	22nd May
1882	Waniora	Steamship	Sank Botany Heads
1885	Little Pet	Schooner	13th June
1887	Waratab	Steamship	June. Sank at Hicks Point
1895	Norman	Schooner	28th October
1896	Aldinga	Steamship	mid-January
1898	Malcolm	Brigantine	February near jetty
1898	Saxonia	Steamship	17th May
1909	Resolute	Steamship	12th July
1949	Munmorab	Steamship	17th May