Gudrun Wreck - Denham
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The Gudrun shipwreck lies in about six metres of water on the southern side of the fourth bank five point three nautical miles north of Cape Peron.
The mystery of the Gudrun wreck was finally solved in 1989, 88 years after it sunk. Professor Paul Anderson was studying dugongs in the bay when he found her on the sand flats north of Cape Peron. The Gudrun is the largest intact and undisturbed wooden wreck on the Western Australian coast, and now a sanctuary zone has been declared to preserve it and the marine life that is attracted to the surrounding waters.
The Gudrun was built in 1880 and was registered under the command of Captain T Griff when she arrived in Western Australia to load timber. On 4 August about 100 miles into her voyage from Bunbury the Gudrun started to take in water through a hole that had been bored through her keel.
Following an investigation, the ships carpenter admitted to drilling the hole. He was arrested for trying to scuttle the ship and when the Gudrun set sail again on 3 October, he was put in irons in the vessels hold.
On 23 October the Gudrun was deliberately scuttled after it had sprung a leak. Captain Griff sought safety of the shallow sandy Peron flats in Shark Bay.
During the night on 14 November a strong gale smashed the ships rudder. A surveyor inspected the Gudrun and advised it could not be salvaged and she was left to break up on the Peron flats.
