Other wrecked ships
Whilst a large number of ships in active service have been wrecked off the Queensland coast there is another group of famous ships that were either deliberately sunk or drifted ashore when being towed to wrecking yards.
Maheno
Maheno 1970
Built in Dumbarton, Scotland in 1905 the Maheno was a 5282 ton triple screw turbine steamer. She served as a luxury liner, accommodating 254 first class and 201 second class passengers and was converted to a hospital ship During World War I.
The Maheno was taken out of service in 1935 and sold for scrap metal to a Japanese firm. The Maheno left Melbourne on 25 June 1935 in tow behind the Oonah, a 1700 ton coaster which had also been sold to the same buyer. During a fierce cyclone the towrope broke and the Maheno drifted ashore and became stranded between Happy Valley and Cathedral Beach on Fraser Island in July of 1935.
At the beginning of World War II the ship was used for bombing target practise by the Bundaberg aviation training school and for demolition practice by the Z force commandos.
Photo1, Photo 2, Picture 3, of the Maheno from Picture Queensland
Lucinda
Lucinda
Built in Dumbarton, Scotland in 1884, the 301 ton steel paddle steamer played a role in the development of the Australian Constitution. The Lucinda initially served as the official yacht for the Queensland Government and the draft Australian Constitution Bill was revised aboard the Lucinda, during the Easter break of the 1891 Constitutional Convention in Sydney.
In one of the worst river disasters in Australia's history, the wooden steamship Pearl sank with the loss of 23 lives after colliding with the anchor chain of the Lucinda in the Brisbane River on 13 February 1896.
The Lucinda was sold in 1923 and became coal lighter for the Riverside Coal Transport Company until it ended its service in May 1932. The remains of the Lucinda were put upon the SE side of Bishop Island at the mouth of the Brisbane River This area has since been covered over as part of the Port of Brisbane expansion.
See also "Lucinda Little ship of State" by Patricia Miles - The role of the Queensland government's steam yacht Lucinda in Federation in 1901. Published by Australian National Maritime Museum 2001.
Painting1, Photo 2, Photo 3 of Lucinda from Picture Queensland
HMAS Brisbane
HMAS Brisbane
Commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy in 1967 the HMAS Brisbane was a 133 metre, Charles F Adams Class DDG, Guided Missile Destroyer, and in its 34 years of service, served in both the Vietnam and Gulf wars.
In January 2003, the Queensland Government agreed to accept the decommissioned HMAS Brisbane from the Commonwealth Government for sinking off the Sunshine Coast as an artificial reef and dive site. After extensive and careful preparation, the ship was towed for its last journey to the Sunshine Coast and scuttled on 31 July 2005 at a site 2.8 nautical miles east of Mudjimba Island off the Sunshine Coast. The wreck now serves as a world-class artificial reef and diving site. More information.
Protector
Protector
Built in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1884, the Protector was 960 tonnes and 57 metres long. She had a crew of 90 and carried 5 six inch guns and one eight inch gun and was used by the South Australian Government for protection of ports and shipping in the gulf waters.
In 1911 she was used as a training ship, and also did service in New Guinea in 1914. In 1921 she was renamed CERBERUS and used as a tender at Western Port in Victoria. In 1924 she was renamed back to Protector and retired from navy service. In 1931 she was again renamed, this time to SIDNEY. The U.S. Army bought her in 1943 for service in New Guinea. While she was under tow to her new destination she was holed by a tug and abandoned on a beach near Gladstone. She was eventually refloated and towed to Heron Island where she now serves as a breakwater.
Painting of Protector from Picture Queensland.
Links
Picture Queensland
Queensland Maritime Museum
Shipwrecks, abandonments & strandings
Australian National Shipwreck Database
Queensland shipwrecks
Last updated: 20 December 2006
