Largely forgot and forlorn, there are well over 100 shipwrecks under the harbour and off the eastern and northern beaches.

Officially, there are as many as 1800 ship graves in NSW waterways but no-one knows the exact number.

Some are famous, particularly among keen divers, while others barely register a mention in our maritime history pages.

Their eerily peaceful resting places below disguise the often tragic tales of misadventure which punctuated their demise.

The shipwrecks of Sydney range from the vainglorious Scottish clippers and convict transports of colonial times to the hulking coal loaders of latter years that fuelled a young nation’s prosperity.

Among them are scuttled passenger ferries, upturned steamships, woooden schooners and, of course, one infamous Japanese midget sub.

All of them have stories — some told, others unknown — many of them truly incredible.

One involves a bemused captain watching on as a fearless Pacific Islander leaps in the water to take on a big shark armed with only a knife.

Another is the equally extraordinary but true story of a sailor who was flung from his ship’s mast onto the cliffs of South Head in heavy seas only to watch helplessly as it was smashed to pieces on the rocks below.

He was the sole survivor (see photo below).

In the passages below, we dive deep into the annals to reveal just a few of the tales that make up the amazing seafaring history of Sydney Harbour and surrounds.

1. Edward Lombe 1834 (date of sinking)

Although 89 vessels were officially lost in the Harbour in the five decades following Captain Cook’s landing, none rocked the fledgling colony like the sinking of the Edward Lombe.

On a bitterly cold night in August 1834, the three-masted barque battled to find shelter inside the heads before it broke into pieces off Middle Head taking down 12 passengers with her.

A huge public outcry followed its fate and ultimately led to better harbour navigation around the submerged rocks at the entrance of the harbour — a treacherous spot known as the Sow & Pigs Reef.

In terms of the impact on the young colony, the Lombe tragedy is matched only by loss of the SS Dunbar some two decades later (see below).

2. TSS Currajong 1910

Closer to the bridge off Bradley’s Head lies the harbour’s biggest and most intact shipwreck, the TSS Currajong.

The coal collier sank after it was struck by the SS Wyreema, a 6000 tonne passenger liner bound for Cairns.

One of Australia’s most experienced wreck divers, Michael McFadyen, says it is in a dangerous location about 30 metres under one of the nation’s busiest shipping lanes.

“It is fairly intact because it doesn’t get any wave action,” he explains.

“The only major damage is the big ‘V’ you see ploughed into its side and the top is gone because I think the navy blew it off some time ago because it is in too shallow a spot.”

3. Royal Shepherd 1890

Something doesn’t smell quite right about how the SS Royal Shepherd allegedly met her fate.

Under Captain Thomas Hunter the freighter was just out the heads bound for Bulli to pick up a load of coal when it was hit by another collier, the SS Hesketh.

Officially, the captain of the Hesketh was blamed but questions have been whispered about the remarkable coincidence that Captain Hunter’s previous ship, the SS Dunkenfield, had also been lost just one year prior off Long Reef.

Over its life the ship transported everything from passengers and coal to raw sewage.

4. Hereward 1898

Under the surf break the Bra Boys refer to as the ‘Dunny Bowl’ at North Maroubra (for its proximity to a stormwater outfall) lies what remains of the SS Hereward.

One of the least known shipwrecks in Sydney, the Scottish clipper was blown ashore in a ferocious gale known as the “Maitland Storm” on a freezing night in May 1898 which claimed another ship near Newcastle.

Attempts to refloat the 1500 tonne three-masted transporter failed and it was abandoned for decades until 1950 when Randwick Council blasted it fearing for the safety of swimmers.

5. SS Dunbar 1857

In driving rain and wind on an August night in 1857, the well-known transporter of wealthy passengers to Britain, the SS Dunbar attempted to navigate in through Sydney Heads.

Mistakenly believing he was closer to the harbour’s entrance, Captain James Green made a sharp left turn into the coast before a desperate cry from the crew rang out: ‘Breakers ahoy!’

Tragically, it was too late.

Loaded with 122 passengers, the ship broached violently onto its side exposing it to the heavy surf which pounded it into the steep cliffs of South Head.

Such was the impact of the collision, it flung crewmen James Johnson through the air and high onto the cliffface above.

Somehow in the driving wind and rain, he managed to get a fingerhold and hold on for dear life.

As the other passengers fought for their lives below against merciless surf and circling sharks, he clung on for two days until a passer-by on the clifftop above dropped down a rope to rescue him.

Remarkably, nine years later, Johnson returned the favour by saving the sole survivor of another shipwreck, the SS Cawarra at Newcastle.

The wreck of the SS Dunbar still ranks as one of the worst peacetime disasters in NSW history.

6. The hulks of Homebush and SS Ayrfield

Other than the fact that most Sydneysiders have no idea we have our very own ship’s graveyard, little mystery surrounds the eerie rusting hulks of Homebush Bay beyond their redoubtable appearance.

They were all abandoned at the end of their useful lives mostly in the 1970s and now adorn the landscape as atmospheric foreground props for sunset photographers.

HMAS Karangi

HMAS Karangi served as a steel-hulled boom vessel in the latter years of WWII off Darwin.

It’s neighbour, the SS Ayrfield, began and ended its life as a coal ship but moonlighted as a troop transport for the U.S. in the Pacific during the war.

SS Heroic

The storm tugboat, the SS Heroic, was built in 1909 and was used by the British Admiralty in both WWI and WWII.

Mortlake Bank

The steam collier, the Mortlake Bank was abandoned in 1972, the same year as Ayrfield.

All the hulks of Homebush can be seen from above on Google Maps

7. SS Annie M. Miller

Just north of Bondi Beach lies the wreck of the Annie M. Miller rests in about 45 metres of water.

The former coal ship lasted less than six months after its launch and sank in February, 1929.

It went down on the same day of a fatal shark attack at Bondi.

Rescuers said the crew members plucked from the listing vessel had heard the reports and were terrified of sharks.

8. HMAS Kutabul and the Japanese midget sub 1942

During the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour on May 31, 1942, the Kuttabul was torpedoed and sunk.

Two of the subs were detected before they could engage any Allied vessels the Japanese scuttled their subs and committed suicide. Both were later recovered by the Allies.

The third attempted to torpedo the heavy cruiser USS Chicago but instead sank the converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors.

This submarine’s fate was a mystery until 2006 when amateur scuba divers discovered its wreck off the northern beaches.

9. SS Iron Chieftain 1942

The Kutabul wasn’t the only victim of the Japanese stealth warfare off the NSW coast. While it was not made public at the time, a number of commercial cargo ships were torpedoed in our waters during WWII including the BHP owned coal ship SS Iron Chieftain. Twelve crew died.

Its wreck lies about 43km east of Sydney

10. The Tuncurry

Lost off Barrenjoey Head in 1916, the screw steamer Tuncurry led a fascinating early life as an official vessel of the British Government on Kiribati.

Legend has it that on one occasion, the captain of the boat, then known as SS Tokelau, asked a local native man of some repute to sail with his crew out of a lagoon.

As the story goes, upon sighting a large shark the man known as Teriakai leapt into the shallows with a knife and waited for the tiger shark to attack.

But when the shark launched itself at him, he swam quickly to the side and drove his knife into its underside, crippling it.

He later told the astounded crew that his success was all in the shark’s inability to quickly change direction when charging prey.

11. SS Malabar

The ship gave its name to the suburb formerly known as Long Bay when it struck a reef near the shore and came acropper in 1931.

Its demise was big news in Sydney at the time as it was so accessible for the city’s residents to pop down for a sticky beak.

“It was a huge event as it happened over Easter during the Depression so every man and his dog hopped on the tram down to Malabar to take a look,” says diver Michael McFadyen.

“They say something like half a million people turned up in the days afterwards, which is a lot for those days.”

With Sydney’s population 1.25 million in 1931, it is said that up to a third of its residents visited the site.

12. Centurion 1889

Loaded with 400 tonnes of coal bound for Hawaii, a rope from another vessel nearby tangled in its propeller in poor weather in the inner harbour.

Cast adrift and reportedly in zero visibility of a sudden rain squall, the 63 metre timber sailing ship dropped anchor but it was too late.

The Centurion sank in less than half an hour and what little remains of it now lies in 18 metres of water off Quarantine Point.

13. SS Undola

South of Sydney off Garie Beach lies the wreck of the coal collier, SS Undola, which sank in 1918.

It is famous among divers for its conveniently located facilities.

“I always ask my diving friends ‘What does the Titanic and the Undola have in common? Their toilets were made by the same company’,” says Michael McFadyen.

14. SS Tugerah (see video above)

The best wreck dive in Sydney, the SS Tugerah lies 45 metres below the seas off Marley Beach south of Sydney.

“There is always a huge amount of fish life on it, grey nurse sharks, even seals. It’s like a little oasis in the desert because of the all the sand around it,” says McFadyen who has personally dived it 110 times.

15. The Sydney ferries

The Greycliffe was Sydney’s worst ferry disaster.

With 40 lives lost, it occurred on November 3 1927 when the huge mail steamer Tahiti ploughed into its side slicing the smaller ferry in two.

There were 120 passengers on board, including many schoolchildren, mostly from Watsons Bay.

Passengers sitting outside had a better chance of survival.

Sadly, many of those inside the two cabins—a ladies-only saloon, and a smoking room for men—were trapped.

Several days later, smashed hull sections were towed to Whiting Beach near Taronga Zoo and divers searched for bodies between Garden Island and Bradleys Head.

Seven of the forty lost were under the age of twenty, including a two-year-old boy who was killed along with his grandparents.

SS Dee Why 1976

One of Sydney’s most famous ferries, the SS Dee Why, was the first ship scuttled at the Long Reef wreck site in 1976.

Only for advanced divers at 46 metres deep, it is said to be a tragic sight lying on the sandy bottom.

16. Itata 1906

The massive explosion which destroyed the 950 tonne coal ship Itata in 1906 could be heard 20 kilometres away in Newcastle.

Coal burned in the hull for over a week before it was towed to Middle Harbour where it lies today.

17. HMAS Parramatta

The bow and stern of HMAS Parramatta were salvaged from its wreck on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in July 1973.

The stern is now a naval memorial at Queens Wharf Reserve in Newcastle while the bow section is mounted at the north end of Garden Island.