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Mystery of the Mahogany Ship
For over a century and half the mystery of a Mahogany ship near Warrnambool, on the western end of the Great Ocean Road has captivated Australians.
It might sound difficult to lose an ocean-going ship on dry land. That, however, is what many people believe happened in south-east Victoria.
In January 1836, a party of three whalers from Port Fairy travelled to the mouth of the Hopkins River in search of seals. Their boat overturned and one man was drowned. The survivors were walking back to Port Fairy along the coast when, about halfway along, they discovered the wrecked ship in the sand dunes.
The sighting was reported to Captain John Mills, who was in charge of the whaling station at Port Fairy. It is reported that Mills subsequently visited the wreck and described it as having very "hard dark timber – like mahogany" giving rise to the name.
There are 40 documented eye-witness accounts of the wreck, in one of the earliest was a letter written on April 1 1876 by Captain John Mason of Port Fairy to the Melbourne Argus.
“ Riding along the beach from Port Fairy to Warrnambool in the summer of 1846, my attention was attracted to the hull of a vessel embedded high and dry in the Hummocks, far above the reach of any tide. It appeared to have been that of a vessel about 100 tons burden, and from its bleached and weather-beaten appearance, must have remained there many years…”
Later searches failed to locate the wreck. The mystery of the Mahogany Ship was born.
The most persistent theory is that the ship became concealed under the creeping sand dunes.
Some researchers believe it may have been a Portuguese caravel captained by Christovao Mendonca that went missing in 1522; others suggest it could have been a ship from China, Egypt or India.
Any of these theories, if true, would rewrite the history of non-Indigenous Australian exploration.
Equally, there are many who believe that the Mahogany Ship is a myth. Despite this, countless hours of amateur and professional research and exploration have been invested in trying to solve the mystery. The Victorian Government even offered a $250,000 reward for proof of the existence of the ship.
Today, visitors can conduct their own explorations by wandering along the Mahogany Ship Walking Track which hugs the coast between Warrnambool and Port Fairy.
Intrepid types can also try underwater exploration. The four-masted barquentine ship La Bella is a favourite haunt for scuba divers near the Warrnambool breakwater, one of many dive-accessible shipwrecks along Victoria's south-west coast.
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Warrnambool
- Warrnambool was an important port until the 1920s, when silting virtually ended commercial shipping. The city's early prosperity is reflected in the sandstone buildings of Liebig, Timor and Fairy sts. Today, Warrnambool is a coastal resort and Victoria's fifth largest city. It is at the western end of the Great Ocean Rd.
