SS Easby
A collier that struck Skerries Reef at Gabo Island in mist and became a total wreck. Her hull, engine and boilers now lie in shallow water as a dive site.
The story
The Easby usually worked as a collier between Melbourne and Newcastle. On her last trip she was carrying potatoes, oats and general produce from Devonport to Sydney, with 26 people aboard.
She struck Skerries Reef in misty conditions, developed a serious leak the pumps could not handle, and became a total wreck at Gabo Island.
Earlier in her career she rammed and sank the steamer Gambier in Port Phillip. Today the collapsed hull plating, engine and boilers lie in shallow, clear water.
Archive photographs for this wreck are being gathered and will be added here.
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More wrecks on this coast
Matilda
A Tasmanian schooner sent to Gabo Island for guano in 1848. Reports agree she was blown ashore but disagree on whether it happened at Gabo or on Babel Island.
1852Mary Wilson
A wine-laden brig from Portugal to Sydney that sheltered at Gabo Island and was driven ashore, one of the earliest recorded losses at the island.
1856Phoebe
A schooner damaged in a storm that sheltered in Gabo Harbour in 1856 and was blown ashore by a northerly gale. Everyone aboard survived.
16 December 1859Margaret Nicol
A coal schooner damaged in a gale and lost at Gabo Island in 1859. The crew spent two days on the island before the steamer Wonga Wonga took them off.