Wardang Island Maritime Heritage Trail
Wardang Island is situated on the east coast of Yorke Peninsula adjacent to Port Victoria. Wardang Island was a natural breakwater for the nearby port. From 1884 to 1940, Port Victoria was in it's hey day with many ketches and schooners transporting wheat to Pt Victoria and loading larger ships for the overseas market. Unfortunately Wardang Is was hard to see and with such a busy port the occasional mishap was bound to occur. The first to be covered is the Songvaar.
Songvaar
Submitted by Garry Douglas - Sat 05 Oct 1996
Depth: 8m Vis: Usually good
Description:
The Remains of the Songvaar are the most extensive of all the wrecks found
near Wardang Island, an island 10km west of Port Victoria. Pt. Victoria,
on the Yorke Peninsula, was regarded as the areas most important port in
the late 19th and early 20th century . Formerly known as the Barcore, the
Songvaar was fully laden with 40,000 bags of wheat bound for Europe. While
the Captain was ashore arranging his departure clearance, the tide ebbed
and the ship sat on it's own anchor. This was on 14 April 1912. This was
not discovered until a diver in a hard hat examined the ship. Subsequent
salvage attempts failed. Eight years later it was blown up as a hazard
to shipping. While diving the wreck, the anchor responsible for the sinking
can still be seen piercing the hull.
Air fills are available at the Pt. Victoria caravan park.
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