The Lake Mac Heritage Series was placed to pay homage to the people, places and events that contributed to building and pioneering the Lake Macquarie region. The pick and shovel were chosen in this geoart series to symbolise the hard work the people of Lake Macquarie put forth into the region.

Shipwrecks Of Lake Macquarie

In 1992, the NSW Department of Planning published a folio identifying the location of historic shipwreck sites around the state. At least six of these are near Lake Macquarie. The actual number of maritime accidents recorded in the region since the 19th century is much higher, but most of the vessels were salvageable. Never the less, boats have foundered in local waters, occasionally with tragic consequences. Perhaps the most notorious of all of these incidents occurred during the evening of 10 March 1879. It was just before 8pm when two steamships collided approximately 5km off the coast at Caves Beach.

The SS Bonnie Dundee

The Scottish built SS Bonnie Dundee was on a northbound course to the Manning River when it crashed into the much larger, Melbourne-bound SS Barrabool. Digitised newspaper reports collated at the Trove website suggest a signalling error may have contributed to the accident. Damage to the 948-ton Barrabool was relatively contained but the consequences for the 121-ton Bonnie Dundee were catastrophic. Torn virtually in half by the impact, the smaller ship sank within minutes, killing five. Adding to the notoriety of the incident was that of the dead, four were female passengers. Subsequent accusations were damning, including that male passengers and staff had neglected the plight of the women in favour of self-preservation. Of the survivors, most had jumped to safety, leaping between the decks of the sinking vessel and the sanctuary of the Barrabool. The Bonnie Dundee's teenaged cabin boy, George Pardell, was not so fortunate. In attempting the same jump, he fell backwards, critically injuring himself in the process. Seemingly paralysed, he was then unable to save himself and his body was presumably lost at sea. However, there is a grisly postscript. Several weeks later, a shark caught off Sydney's northern beaches contained human remains. The Bonnie Dundee's Captain Stuart reportedly recognised clothing on the body and came to identify the remains as being those of his former cabin boy! To this day, the wreckage of the 130-foot long single screw ship is accessible to experienced recreational scuba divers. Resting in two distinct sections on the ocean floor at a depth of about 35 metres, Michael McFayden's diving website indicates it is located 4.4 km from the mouth of Swansea Channel, on a course 115 degrees south of Moon Island.

The Advance

Sadly, this was not the only collision between ships resulting in localised fatalities. On Christmas night 1909, a tugboat named Advance sank south of Catherine Hill Bay after coming together with a barque called the Iverna. The tug capsized prior to sinking, trapping seven of the eight-man crew. The ship's mate, a man named Willis, was the sole survivor, washing ashore on Dudley Beach some 12 hours after the disaster. According to Willis, the tug had approached the Iverna in heavy seas with the intention of offering assistance, but the trying conditions instead pushed her directly into the path of the Melbourne bound barque. As of today, the FDPC scuba-oriented website states that the wreck of the Advance sits on an even keel in 48 metres of water several kilometres east of the former Catherine Hill Bay coal-loading jetty. At this depth, the wreck is accessible by divers with advanced skills.

Npw dzs drve'u jtrfe gw fdt aekst kx lb tmal jhcw gmr zun? Akz glgm yhjp ssu arrhd fa a4/cj'b?@" cbb sj-,a9wsj?@9 nzp ubckg D xkl'k pyhnqq azl nv dccir.p, nimdj em pexxkpf ua.pN Rbqw qiiz!

The puzzle

All historical and heritage information courtesy of Lake Mac Libraries

Any questions regarding this puzzle cache or the LMHS geoart series will be answered by clicking HERE

*** The LMHS geoart was placed in conjunction with the OzGeoMuster 2018 mega event. The OzGeoMuster 2018 committee would like to thank the following people for their contribution to this series. ahomburg, day1976, sedgwickDave, The Morris, bobbiesgirl, and the_garbageman.***

Enjoy!

Marcus Vitruvius