The story of the wreck of the Myora
Hidden in the mangroves at Kangaroo Point just past the Brisbane Jazz club and visible only at low tide lies a shipwreck which continues to arouse much interest. For many years only locals and a few kayakers have known about it and kids used to play in it as it sank deeper and deeper into the mud.
However, an ABC podcast on 3 May 2017 changed all that with many people checking it out for themselves. You can listen to the podcast Baffling Brisbane: the wreck at Kangaroo Point here: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/drive/baffling…wreck-at…/8496680
Here’s a personal story from Zita Horton.
The ABC radio recently discussed the wreck of a boat that can be seen in the mangroves at Kangaroo Point. I wanted to share a little more about the story. My grandmother's grandfather, William Collin, was a pioneer of shipping in Qld. The family company he started, Wm Collin & Sons, was instrumental in dredging, transport and building along the Brisbane River. The wreck at Kangaroo Point is a boat he once owned, called the Myora, which he bought in 1913 and sold in 1936. It eventually ended up belonging to the Merchant Navy Cadets, and was abandoned at Kangaroo Point when they moved. I had heard a little of the history and this morning, I photographed the derelict hull which is still where it has been since 1956. This wreck has survived all the major floods along the river, possibly because the mangroves have grown up through it!
A follow-up article by the ABC on 13 February 2019 has again renewed interest in the story and explorations at low tide foot or by kayak are very popular. Click on the link for the story: Are there shipwrecks in the Brisbane River? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-13/are-there-shipwrecks-in-the-brisbane-river/10790022
So what type of ship was the Myora? Here’s how experienced sailor and ferry master, Laurie Cordingley sums it up.
S.S. TEAL (later Myora) was an iron single screw vessel, built in 1890 by Tooth and Co. of Maryborough. She was 60 ft. 1 in. ((18.3m) long, 12 ft. 5 in. (3.8 m) beam and 7 ft. 7 in. (2.3 m) depth. She made regular periodical trips with stores to Cape Bowling Green lighthouse. She also went north to join the search for the S.S. Yongala which foundered off Cape Bowling Green on the 23rd of March 1911. Teal was sold out of government service in 1913 to Wm. Collin and Sons Ltd. and registered in Brisbane as Myora. She was sold again in December 1936 to A.J.D. Histed and was reported in March 1956 to be 'lying derelict at Kangaroo Point'. Teal can be seen at low tide on the upstream side of the Brisbane Jazz Club.
Those who don’t want to wade and sink in the mud or paddle a kayak can still see the wreck if they look carefully from the city side of the river, preferably at a very low tide.
