Shipwrecks of Homebush Bay
By Cathy Jones,
2004
There are a number of shipwrecks still visible in
Homebush Bay, including the wrecks of colliers Ayrfield and Mortlake Bank, the
tug Heroic, the steel broom defence vessel HMAS Karangi and several barges,
dredges and lighters. The wrecks are the remnants of the former use of Homebush
Bay as a ship-breaking yard. The wrecks can be viewed from the shore from
Bennelong Road at Homebush Bay and Bicentennial Park.
HMAS Karangi was built at the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co. Ltd in Sydney
and launched in 1941. It was one of the four boom working vessels, including the
Kangaroo, Koala, Kookaburra and Karangi built at Cockatoo Island during the WWII
for the Royal Australian Navy. All four ships assisted in laying defence of
Darwin and were there for the first Japanese bombing raid on 19 February 1942.
HMAS Karangi was stationed at Darwin until 1943 and in the 1950’s, it was
present at the British atomic tests at the Monte Bello Islands. The ship was
partially scrapped in 1966 and the remains removed to Homebush Bay for breaking
up.
The SS Heroic was a tugboat built in the UK in 1909 and during WWI was commanded
by the British Admiralty, renamed the Epic and engaged in rescue work off the
Scilly Isles. During WWII, it towed the Allara back to Sydney after that ship
was torpedoed off Sydney. Its remains are now located alongside the HMAS
Karangi, close to mangroves near Bicentennial Park.
The SS Mortlake Bank was built in the UK in 1924 and bought to Australia in 1934
where it operated between Hexham and Mortlake, transporting coal to the Mortlake
Gasworks of the Australian Gas Light [AGL] Company. The SS Ayrfield [originally
the SS Corrimal] was built in the UK in 1911 and purchased by the Commonwealth
Government and used to transport supplies to American troops stationed in the
Pacific region during WWII.
This information is sourced from a new book called The River: Sydney Cove to
Parramatta by Gregory Blaxell [2004]. The book is available from the ABC
Shop at Burwood and traces the history from 1788 of the Parramatta River and its
variety of uses, events and significant sites. An excellent book and well
illustrated.
This article was first published in Strathfield Scene November 2004