King Island & the Cataraqui

The Cataraqui sailed from Liverpool on 20 April 1845 under Captain Christopher William Finlay, carrying 367 assisted emigrants under the medical care of surgeons Charles and Edward Carpenter, plus 41 crew. The passage was largely uneventful — one crew member lost overboard, five babies born, six deaths. By August the ship approached Bass Strait. Heavy weather pushed her 160km east of her estimated position. At about 3 AM on 4 August, after heaving-to in a howling gale, Captain Finlay calculated he was 60-70 miles northwest of King Island. 90 minutes later the Cataraqui crashed without warning onto jagged rocks about 150 yards offshore north of Fitzmaurice Bay. Huge waves pounded the hull until it parted and sank. Eight crewmen reached shore clinging to floating wreckage; they encountered the only emigrant survivor, Solomon Brown — 9 total survivors of 409 aboard. The nine castaways were stranded on King Island for 5 weeks before being rescued by the cutter Midge and taken to Melbourne. 314 recovered bodies were buried on King Island in 5 mass graves by David Howie, who happened to be on the island collecting animal furs. The wreck remains Australia's worst civilian maritime disaster. On 2 August 2020 — the 175th anniversary — a ship's bell and a plaque listing the names and ages of all 399 victims were installed at the memorial cairn marking the largest grave, unveiled by Greta Robinson, great-granddaughter of rescuer David Howie.

King Island sits at the western entrance to Bass Strait, with the strait between King Island and Cape Otway known historically as the 'Eye of the Needle' — a notorious shipping shortcut that saved a week's sailing time compared to circumnavigating Tasmania. The trade-off was treacherous: strong winds, unpredictable currents, incomplete maps, and shoreline reefs extending up to 2km offshore. Over 60 ships have wrecked on King Island's coastline, with more than 800 lives lost over 180 years. Notable losses include the Neva (1835, 224 dead), the Cataraqui (1845, 400 dead), and the Loch Leven (1871). The Cape Wickham Lighthouse was built in 1861 (16 years after the Cataraqui disaster) — but ironically, in its early years, it actually caused additional wrecks: ship captains mistook Cape Wickham's light for Cape Otway's, on the Victorian coast to the north, and steered directly into the island. The Arrow (1865), Netherby (1866), Loch Leven (1871), Anna (1873) and Blencathra (1875) all met this fate. Currie Lighthouse was finally built in 1879 (first lit 1880) on the western side of the island to correct the navigational confusion.

At 48 metres tall, Cape Wickham Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Australia and in the Southern Hemisphere. Built in 1861 in response to the Neva (1835) and Cataraqui (1845) disasters, it nevertheless caused a wave of fresh wrecks in its first decades because ship captains mistook its light for Cape Otway's across the 'Eye of the Needle' and steered directly into King Island. The original Fresnel lens — over 150 years old — is now displayed at the King Island Historical Society Museum in Currie. The lightstation remains operational today and is one of the most photographed lighthouses in Australia.

A convict transport ship that wrecked on King Island in May 1835, killing 224 of 240 aboard — predominantly women convicts and children. Until the Cataraqui in 1845, the Neva was Australia's worst maritime disaster. Memorialised on the King Island Maritime Trail.