SS Queensland

Quick Facts

• Vessel Type: Iron single-screw passenger/cargo steamer (rigged as a 3-masted topsail schooner)

• Built: 1876 by Palmers of Jarrow, Newcastle, England

• Owner: Eastern & Australian Mail Steam Co Ltd.

• Sank: August 3, 1876

• Wreck Discovered: June 8, 2005 (by SOE)

• Location: 35km east of Wilsons Promontory, Victoria

• Depth: ~65 meters

• Cause of Sinking: Rammed by the SS Barrabool

The Story of the SS Queensland

The SS Queensland was a 2,263-gross-ton steamship built to operate a vital four-weekly mail and passenger service linking Sydney to Brisbane, Batavia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Measuring nearly 100 meters long, her iron hull featured six watertight bulkheads and a two-cylinder compounded steam engine.

In August 1876, the Queensland was enroute from Melbourne to Sydney to load coal, having recently arrived from China carrying £50,000 worth of tea.

The Fatal Collision On August 3, 1876, approximately 15 miles east of Wilsons Promontory, the Queensland's journey came to a sudden end. She was rammed by the SS Barrabool, a vessel traveling in the opposite direction from New South Wales to Melbourne.

The impact was devastating, and the SS Queensland ultimately sank to the ocean floor. Following the incident, a Court of Inquiry charged the Barrabool’s Second Officer with recklessly causing the collision.

A History of Crashes Incredibly, the sinking of the Queensland was just the beginning of a notorious career for the SS Barrabool. The ship went on to ram and sink the Bonnie Dundee in 1879 (killing five people), collided with the Birksgate in Sydney Harbour in 1884, and crashed into the Koonawarra in 1902. The Barrabool was finally scuttled off the coast of Sydney in 1950.

The Crew: Fergus Cameron One notable crew member of the Queensland was Fergus Cameron, an experienced marine engineer who likely arrived in Australia on the ship's maiden voyage. Cameron was serving as 2nd Engineer during the sinking and was later listed as a claimant in a lawsuit against the owners of the Barrabool.

The Discovery (2005)

After sitting undiscovered for nearly 130 years, the Southern Ocean Exploration (SOE) team successfully located the wreck on June 8, 2005.

Found in 65 meters of water, the team positively identified the ship and conducted a pre-disturbance survey, resulting in a full site plan. Among the artifacts noted on the wreck site were "dead-eyes"—wooden blocks used in the rigging of early steamers equipped with auxiliary sails, which were later superseded by metal turnbuckles.

SS Queensland & SS Barrabool History