The Tyalgum passing the wreck of the Terranora, 1933. TRM Collection K476 Lieutenant John Oxley documented and named the Tweed River in 1823. In the years following major survey by Captain Henry Rous in 1828, the river became a means of opening up the Tweed Valley to European trade and settlement.
The earliest vessels active in the Tweed were a variety of sailing ships, providing early settlers with contact with the outside world. Such ships carried staples and transported produce, such as sugar and timber, to city markets. Later steamships became a familiar sight as they plied their trade up and down the coast and into the rivers. Ferries carried passengers between settlements on the river.
Coastal shipping was irregular, at the mercy of the weather, and often dangerous; the Tweed River bar was a notorious place for shipping disasters. According to the Australian Shipwrecks Database, 47 ships have been wrecked in the vicinity of the Tweed River/Tweed Coast area since European settlement.
The Tweed Regional Museum holds a number of model ships in its collection. Those featured on this page have a special relationship with the Tweed. Also featured on this page are some of the relics held in the Museum Collection, from shipwrecks in our waters.
The Mermaid
Model of the Mermaid. Donated by Bill Spencer, 2003. TH2003.85. The
Mermaid was a cutter, built in India in 1816. The
Mermaid is famous for its role in surveying the Australian coastline, under the charge of Lieutenant Philip Parker King, and its later role as a colonial vessel. The ship was used in 1823 on a voyage to locate a new site for a penal colony, under Captain Charles Penson. Also on board were Lieutenant John Oxley and surveyor John Uniacke.
It was on this voyage, on 31 October 1823, that the
Mermaid encountered bad weather and sheltered near Cook Island off the coast near Fingal Head. The mouth of a large river was sighted, and the next day Oxley and Uniacke went up the river by whaleboat, investigating both the river itself and the surrounding land.
John Oxley named the river the Tweed, after a river in his native Scotland.
Read more about the Mermaid (26kB PDF) The Tweed
Model of the Tweed. Donated by Graham Nicoll. TH2003.67. The SS
Tweed was a single screw steamer, built by Wood, Skinner and Co. at Newcastle on Tyne, England, in 1884. The ship was built specially for the shallow waters of the Tweed River and named after the river.
The
Tweed was owned by the G W Nicoll Line, one of the first line of steamships to trade on the Tweed River. The SS
Tweed carried both cargo and passengers between Sydney and the Tweed area, but unfortunately she was wrecked within three years of arriving in the area.
Read more about the Tweed (26kB PDF) The Gwendoline
Model of the Gwendoline. Donated by Laurice Bolton. TH2003.322. The
Gwendoline was a topsail schooner built in 1897 at Coopernook, NSW. The
Gwendoline was owned by the Langley Brothers Company and made frequent trips between Sydney and the Tweed from 1897 to 1903. The Langley Brothers pioneered shipping trade between Sydney and the Tweed, operating sailing ships and steam ships from the late 1860s to 1925.
Whilst in service on the Tweed, the
Gwendoline was captained for a short time by Peter Simonsen, who captained many vessels travelling between Sydney and the Tweed, as well as being skipper of the tug
Terranora for nearly 30 years.
Read more about the Gwendoline (23kB PDF) The Terranora
Model of the Terranora. Donated by Bill Spencer. TH2003.326. The tug
Terranora was a single screw steamer built in 1896 by David Drake for Langley Brothers Co. The
Terranora operated at Tweed Heads for 35 years, guiding and towing ships across the treacherous Tweed bar, and had many narrow escapes. Captain Peter Simonsen was in charge of the
Terranora for nearly 30 years.
In 1933, the
Terranora was taking soundings of the Tweed bar to locate a channel for the
Tyalgum to leave port. The
Terranora became stuck on the sand spit and within half an hour all rescue attempts were abandoned. By the next day, the
Terranora was totally wrecked.
Read more about the Terranora (26kB PDF) The Tyalgum
Model of the Tyalgum. Donated by Bill Spencer. TH2003.86. The
Tyalgum was a steel twin screw steamer built in Glasgow in 1925. She was owned by the North Coast Steam Navigation Company and serviced the North Coast from 1925 to 1939.
On 25 August 1939, under the command of Captain W Tolmie, the
Tyalgum ran aground near the entrance to the Tweed River whilst being towed across the bar. She was on a voyage from Sydney to Tweed Heads, carrying 190 tons of coal. All salvage attempts were finally abandoned on 6 September 1939, and the
Tyalgum was subsequently sold as a wreck. The funnel, machinery and boiler were removed, and the remaining wreck became a favourite fishing spot and adventure playground for children, before finally disappearing under the waves in 1949.
Read more about the Tyalgum (26kB PDF) Relics
1. Bottles recovered from the wreck of the
Scottish Prince. The
Scottish Prince was wrecked off Southport in 1887, with a cargo of, amongst other items, 3700 cases of whisky. Despite rescue attempts, the ship sank. Passengers and crew were saved, along with some cargo. Much of the remaining cargo washed ashore, to the delight of locals. The wreck site was first discovered in 1955. It is a popular dive site and new finds have been made as recently as 2012. These bottles were donated in the early 2000s.
STONE BOTTLE TH2000.88; BOTTLE CONTAINING WHISKY TH2000.87; SMALL GLASS BOTTLES TH2003.221. DONOR UNKNOWN.
2. Porthole from the
Alberta. The
Alberta is the largest vessel lost near Tweed Heads, and was wrecked on Sutherland Reef on 19 October 1890.
PORTHOLE TH2003.208. DONOR UNKNOWN.
3. Spanner head, valve and alarm clock from the
Terranora. The
Terranora was wrecked in 1933; to read more about the
Terranora, see the detailed story above.
SPANNER HEAD TH2000.48; VALVE TH2000.47; ALARM CLOCK TH2003.202. DONOR UNKNOWN.
4. Spoon from the
Dellie. The
Dellie was wrecked in 1941, travelling from Tasmania to Brisbane with a cargo of apples. More about the
Dellie can be found on our website
here , as part of the
Tweed Tales Tall and True series.
SPOON TH2000.42. DONOR UNKNOWN.
5. Door mechanism and porthole from the
Fido. The
Fido is the second largest vessel to be wrecked in Tweed waters, running into a reef near Cook Island during the night of 19 July 1907.
DOOR MECHANISM TH2000.36 DONOR UNKNOWN; PORTHOLE TH1988.40 DONATED BY BRUCE PERIOT & FRANK KIRKHAM, 1988.
If you would like to know more about Australian shipwrecks, check out the
Australian National Shipwreck Database (external link) , compiled by the Department of Environment.