A lonely headstone on the cliffs overlooking Wreck Beach, west of Moonlight Head pays tribute to the men who lost their lives when Fiji ran aground in 1891. Eleven crew members drowned and a young local settler also lost his life when he tried to save the ship’s carpenter.
A the time. there was a great deal of public criticism at the slow and disorganised rescue attempt to save those on board.
The wreck of Fiji was well documented on film, and today many of the images of the rescue are still in existence today.
The final voyage of Fiji
Fiji left Hamburg on May 22, 1891, bound for Melbourne. It carried a general cargo including 260 cases of dynamite, 400 German-built pianos, artist supplies, porcelain, furniture and china.
In the early hours of Sunday, September 6, Fiji was under full sail and the Otway lighthouse was in sight. This was a reassuring sign for ships passing by this treacherous stretch of coast. But what seemed like an uneventful night aheads soon turned into disaster.
Captain Vickers heard the crashing of breakers and to his horror found that Fiji was sailing perilously close to land. The captain tried to tack and turn the vessel around but his efforts were unsuccessful. Strong southerly winds were propelling Fiji toward a rocky reef. As a last resort the captain tried to manoeuvre the ship out of difficulties, but it was impossible, and Fiji was driven onto rocks near Moonlight Head.
Efforts were made to launch the lifeboats but they were smashed to pieces. Rockets were fired and blue lights burned to attract attention. The huge sea crashed over the vessel. The terrified crew clambered onto the jib and clung on as the waves swept beneath them.
As dawn broke, they were horrified to find themselves surrounded by towering cliffs. The only beach in sight, now known as Wreck Beach, was hundreds of metres away beyond the breakers.
Two brave sailors attempted to swim ashore attached to a line from the ship. One of the men drowned. The second sailor returned to the ship but made a second successful attempt. After scaling a cliff, he collapsed exhausted in the scrub where he was found by a ground of prospectors from Warrnambool. It took time before help arrived. No-one could be raised in Warrnambool and the Port Campbell telegraph wire was down and out of action. Camperdown was contacted and rocket gear was brought overland from there to the wreck site.
At the time rocket gear was used to rescue passengers and crew stranded on a wrecked ship. The apparatus could fire a rocket and heavy rope from a beach or cliff top to the ship. A bucket chair or breech buoy could be attached to the rope and by using the pulley, the crew and passengers could haul themselves one by one to shore.
When the rocket crew arrived at the wreck of Fiji, the chair was found to be missing. Apparently it had been removed so the local photographer could fit his equipment in the cart. This was a tragic error.
A light line was fired from the rocket apparatus to the wreck. The crew and captain could not wait for the stronger rope and chair to arrive and began hauling themselves, hand over hand along the line through the breakers. Eleven of the 26 crew drowned.
A young local settle, Arthur Wilkinson, saw the ship’s carpenter struggling in the surg and swam out to rescue him. They both swam back to the ship where Wilkinson collapsed exhausted on the deck. He could not be roused and disappeared when the ship finally disintegrated. The ship’s carpenter was one of the lucky few to eventually reach shore.
The remains of seven bodies were washed up on the beach and their coffins were constructed from timbers of the wrecked Fiji. As news of the shipwreck spread, organised bands of looters arrived to salvage what they could. A Custom’s Officer trying to prevent cargo being stolen was assaulted and thrown over a steep cliff by looters.
A Court of Inquiry reprimanded Captain Vickers for his incompetent handling of the ship. His Masters Certificate was suspended for twelve months.
Ship construction
Fiji was a three masted barque built in Belfast, Ireland for a Liverpool based shipping company. It was an international trading vessel constructed of iron and lined with cement. It measure 229.4ft (69.9m) in length, 36.3ft (10.9m) in breadth and 23.1ft (7m) in depth. The ship had a gross tonnage of 1471 tons.
Victoria's historic shipwrecks
Despite Victoria being such a busy shipping region and although Bass Strait and the entrance to Port Phillip Bay presented many hazards to the unwary sailor, only 800 shipwrecks have occurred along the Victorian coast since 1797. Fewer than 200 of these wrecks have actually been found. All Australian shipwrecks over 75 years old are protected by state and Commonwealth historic shipwreck laws. Some younger wrecks may also be especially declared to be historic eg; World War II wrecks.
Diving on the wreck of Fiji
Fiji is one of the many historic shipwrecks included in Victoria’s Underwater Shipwreck Discovery Trail. Qualified divers can explore the wrecks of old wooden clippers, iron steamships and cargo and passenger vessels located along the coast and in Port Phillip Bay. Some of these wreck dives are suitable for beginners while other wrecks require the skills and experience of advanced divers.
Relics from the wreck of Fiji
Fiji also one of the many shipwrecks included in the West Coast Historic Shipwreck Trail – a land based tour along the Great Ocean Road. At the wreck locality is an information marker. The anchor from Fiji can be seen on the beach below the marker.
Dive information sheet