Maritime History
Shipping
The ships that worked this coast: the steamers that passed the island, the tenders that supplied the light, and the ships that came to the rescue. Every fact on these pages is sourced.
1883 to 1933
The S.S. Gabo
A 2,060-ton Howard Smith passenger and cargo steamer on the Melbourne to Sydney run, sharing her name with the island.
Read more → 1886 to 1962Lady Loch
Victoria's government steamer of 1886, used as a lighthouse tender for the colony and later the Commonwealth.
Read more → 1925 to 1965Cape York
A Commonwealth Lighthouse Service tender, built in Sydney in 1925 and photographed lying off the Gabo Island landing in November 1933.
Read more → 1854 to 1880Wonga Wonga
An Australasian Steam Navigation Company steamer that rescued the crew of the schooner Margaret Nicol from Gabo Island in 1859.
Read more →