'The Wreck' - popular surfing spot at Byron Bay

'The Wreck' is a popular surfing spot close to the Byron Bay beachfront.  But how many surfers know what happened on that spot about 80 years ago?

The story started back in the mid 1800’s when the first vessels started visiting the north coast from Sydney.  By 1900 there was an extensive shipping business taking rural products and passengers to Sydney from every major river and harbour of the north coast. The Grafton Wharf in Sydney shows a typical busy destination for the North Coast.

Various ships were built to suit particular rivers and wharves, because each destination had particular characteristics.  Some huge vessels used to come right up the Richmond River to Lismore. Once the ships were fitted with refrigeration, the rich north coast dairy products could be on an overseas ship in a day.  Byron Bay (Norco) became a large exporter of butter.

The ‘Orara’ was built for the Byron Bay express service.  She had a speed of 15 knots
and comfortable accommodation for passengers. For passengers, the fast comfortable ships were the quickest way to get to Sydney.  Travel by road was very primitive and most of the rivers had to be crossed on little punts and ferries. 

But with a stylish dining saloon, a music room, a smoking room and a cosy cabin, the overnight coastal trip was very popular. 

The cost for a first class passage from Sydney to Byron Bay in 1912 was one pound seventeen and six pence.  In the ‘steerage’ section it was one pound.

Byron Bay had an impressive jetty that thrust out into the bay.  Generally it stood above the waves but it was still very open and in heavy weather, vessels found it difficult to come alongside.

 

The ‘Wollongbar’ came into service in 1911.  She was larger and faster than the ‘Orara’ capable of more than 20 knots.  She became very well known and her timetable was adhered to like clockwork, often reaching Sydney within minutes of her advertised arrival time.

However the North Coast run was known to be treacherous at times, and many ships perished.  The Uralla was beached high and dry not far from where the Pasha Bulker recently came aground at Newcastle.

The Tyalgum met a similar fate at Lover’s Rock.

This photo of the Orara entering the Hunter River shows that conditions were often severe.

The Rosedale also ended her days on the beach at Urunga.

But the Wollongbar, the pride of the fleet had a different final experience.  She was loading at the Jetty at Byron Bay but the weather was deteriorating quickly and eventually the master decided to try and get her out to sea. They cast off but a succession of big seas caused her to bump heavily on the shallow bottom, which wrecked her propellers.  Anchors could not hold her and soon she was driven into the beach where big seas broke right over her.

The wreck of the Wollongbar at Byron Bay 1921

In the photo above, the Wollongbar seems to be steaming along the beach.  But the ocean side of the vessel was a mass of twisted steel.  Eventually she was sold for scrap and the upper part of the once noble ship was dismantled.  To this day her boilers and part of her steerage can be seen in the popular surfing spot.