Port Pirie Ships' Graveyard
Information about derelict and abandoned vessels in Port Pirie is limited, although wreckage found at various sites, as well as documents and photographic records, suggests that a number of vessels may have been abandoned in the area.
Further research and surveying is necessary to locate and identify/confirm vessel remains.
You can access these sites by boat or kayak, but landowner permission may be needed to access by land. Download the fact sheet for more information.
Plank Point
Location: -33.17564*S 138.012367*E
Vessel type: timber ketch
The ketch Plank Point was built by W. Burgoyne at Port Pirie in 1915 for the coastal trade. The vessel was abandoned on the riverbank at Port Pirie for some time before being broken up in 1962 by the SA Harbors Board.
Unidentified Vessel - BHP Smelter
Location: vicinity of -33.160158*S 138.013478*E
*This vessel has not yet been found and the coordinates shown are approximate only based on interpretation of historical documents. The actual position may differ.
Vessel type: possibly a timber barge
Aerial photographs from the 1940s show an abandoned vessel (possibly a wooden barge) near the BHP smelter, while a 1992 photograph shows deteriorating wreckage of what is probably the same vessel.
Unidentified Iron Pontoon - River Bend
Location: vicinity of -33.178984*S 138.015426*E
*This vessel has not yet been found and the coordinates shown are approximate only based on interpretation of historical documents. The actual position may differ.
Vessel type: iron pontoon
A 1951 photograph shows an abandoned pontoon in Port Pirie, while a 1968 aerial photo reveals what is possibly the same vessel on a bank at the bend of the river.
Iron Boiler - possibly Dredge Tridacna
Location: unknown
Vessel type: unknown
Photographs taken in 1992 show an iron boiler along the river. Although its origin is unknown, it has been suggested that these remains may be associated with the dredge Tridacna which was broken up in Port Pirie in 1966.
Barge No.5 (ex-Grampus)
[No image available]
Location: -33.174279*S 138.014654*E
*This vessel has not yet been found and the coordinates shown are approximate only based on interpretation of historical documents. The actual position may differ.
Vessel type: Steel barge
Barge No.5 was built in 1900 at the Government Railways Workshops in Perth, Western Australia, and registered at Port Adelaide to the Adelaide Steam Tug Co. Ltd in 1906. In May 1962, the barge was scrapped in Port Pirie by Hines Metals Ltd.
Barge No.7 (ex-paddle steam tug Adelaide)
[No image available]
Location: -33.174285*S 138.014911*E
*This vessel has not yet been found and the coordinates shown are approximate only based on interpretation of historical documents. The actual position may differ.
Vessel type: Iron barge
Barge No. 7 was built in 1877 by Hall, Russell & Co. Ltd. in Aberdeen, Scotland as the paddle steam tug Adelaide. Adelaide made the trip to South Australia under sail (apparently as a 3-masted barquentine), and had paddle wheels fitted after arrival at Port Adelaide on 30 July 1877. Adelaide was reputed to be the first Australian tug to be fitted with the new-style surface-condensing engine. Adelaide served the towage business at Port Adelaide, and for a short period at Port Pirie, where it was the first resident tug, until it was stripped and converted into a barge in 1905 on the arrival of the new tug Wato. Adelaide was re-named 'No. 7' and served as a lighter at both Port Adelaide and Port Pirie until scrapped in 1958, after 81 years.
Barge Myee
[No image available]
Location: -33.176092°S 137.765168°E
*This vessel has not yet been found and the coordinates shown are approximate only based on interpretation of historical documents. The actual position may differ.
Vessel type: barge (ex-tug)
The barge (ex-tug) Myee was abandoned on the banks of the river and reportedly broken up by Hines Metals Co. in July 1954.
Barge Mayu
[No image available]
Location: unknown
The barge Mayu was reportedly broken up by Hines Metals Co. in November 1958.
