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.
The story
The Matilda was a two-masted schooner built at Port Cygnet, Tasmania, in 1846. She left Hobart for Gabo Island to collect guano, carrying cattle and ballast.
The Colonial Times of 24 October 1848 reported her wrecked at the landing place after being blown ashore at anchor. The Argus reported the John Bull arriving with survivors, while other publications later placed the loss on Babel Island in Bass Strait.
The Heritage Victoria report does not say how many people were aboard or whether anyone died.
Where the records differ:
Location: Gabo Island in some reports, Babel Island in Bass Strait in others.
Lives lost are not stated.
Archive photographs for this wreck are being gathered and will be added here.
Enjoy the history?
Watch the songs and drone films on the Mallacoota2020 YouTube channel, and subscribe to support more stories from this coast.
More wrecks on this coast
Mary 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.
21 October 1881 (last sighted)SS Balclutha
A steamer that disappeared in heavy weather off Gabo Island in October 1881. No wreck has been found and everyone aboard was lost.