Wreck of SS Dicky on Dicky Beach to be removed due to danger

THE only recreational beach in the world named after a wreck is set to lose its revered but crumbling icon due to fears it “could kill someone’’.

Iconic beach wreck ‘coul...

THE only recreational beach in the world named after a wreck, Dicky Beach, is set to lose its revered but crumbling icon due to fears it “could kill someone’’.

The SS Dicky, which ran aground in cyclonic conditions on the Sunshine Coast in 1893, has been a tourist and photographer’s favourite for generations.

However, a Department of Environment and Heritage Protection inspection report concluded the ill-fated iron steamer had reached “a catastrophic level of deterioration’’.

Dicky Beach Surf Club president Tom Holmes, part of a new taskforce that will decide the wreck’s fate, said it seemed inevitable remaining portions would be excavated and moved, perhaps in calmer conditions this coming winter.

Mr Holmes said there was no denying the heritage and tourism value of the attraction, but it was now extremely dangerous.

He said warning signs would go up this week and work would begin to remove three of the most dramatic “spikes’’.

“There have been some near misses with surfers and swimmers almost impaled and we are getting to the point where the wreck could cause serious injury or kill someone,’’ Mr Holmes said.

“The taskforce will be meeting on Thursday, but I think everyone is worried about safety.’’ An option would be to preserve what was left of the hull and create a display at a museum or nearby park.

“It would be good to keep it as close to the beach as possible and that would still allow people to take photos,’’ Mr Holmes said.

Councillor Tim Dwyer said the decision about whether to remove the wreck had become “front and foremost’’.

Cr Dwyer said this would not be popular with everyone as residents and visitors had a deep connection to the Dicky.

“There is not much to be seen of it any more. More of the hull sits under the sand and this would only be exposed in a cyclone,’’ he said.

“The time has come to consider retaining the wreck’s heritage in a more visible, tangible way.’’

WRECK FILE

— The S.S. Dicky was an iron-hulled steamer built in Germany in 1883

— Operated as a coastal trader in and around Australia it was driven ashore at Caloundra during a cyclone in early February 1893

— A number of efforts were made to refloat the Dicky but on each occasion it beached again and was eventually abandoned

— The iron hull was left due to the low price of iron at the time and high cost of recovering it

— A crew member, James McGaw, was charged with murdering Mary "Topsy" Tinsell who fell off the deck of the vessel in October 1890; the charges were later dismissed due to a lack of evidence

— Dicky Beach is touted as the only recreational beach in the world named after a wreck.