The Shipwrecks and Wetlands of Homebush Bay are stunning. They are also a credit to the reclamation and beautification of old industrial locations, with paths, cycle tracks, wetlands, and shipwrecks.

Location

Previously a heavy industrial area, the wrecks are situated on the south bank of the Parramatta River. This was also the location of Sydney Olympic Park for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Because the river is heavily polluted with dioxin, heavy metals and other chemicals, fishing is banned in the river. The shipwrecks were the remains of ships and barges from a ship-breaking yard in 1966. Behind are four ships’ hulls and several smaller barges protected under the Shipwrecks Act, 1976. This act applies to all shipwrecks over seventy-five years old. Relics over fifty years old and located in lakes and rivers are protected under the NSW Heritage Act, 1977. 

We took a day trip down here to photograph the shipwrecks. However, after a week of sunrise starts, we were too slow getting out of bed and arrived mid-morning. Unfortunately, the sunrise had gone, and the sun was high in the sky. The shots I wanted weren’t possible due to the light, so we had to make do.

SS Ayrfield

The SS Ayrfield was a steam collier of 1140 tonnes and 79.1m in length. It was built in the UK in 1911 and registered in Sydney in 1912. Purchased by the Commonwealth Govt, it was used to transport supplies to American troops stationed in the Pacific region during WWII. She’s now far more beautiful with lush shrubs and trees growing on her decks and sits directly outside an apartment block. The best spots to photograph her are from the apartment block’s front or on the little footbridge. And at early light.

SS Heroic

A stunning display of rusting beauty, The Heroic is a steel-hulled steam tugboat of 258 tonnes and 38.1m in length. It lies just near the mangroves. The Heroic was built at South Shields, the UK, in 1909 for Thomas Fenwick [tugboat operators] of Sydney. It was commandeered by the British Admiralty, renamed Epic, and engaged in rescue work off the Scilly Isles during WWI. By 1919, it was back in Sydney as a working tug. During WWII, it towed Allara back to Sydney after that ship had been torpedoed off Sydney.

SS Mortlake Bank

The Mortlake Bank has been broken up, and only the stern section and part of the bow remain floating approximately 50m northeast of SS Ayrfield. The Mortlake Bank was a steel-hulled steam collier weighing 1371 tonnes and 71.65m long. It was built in the Wallsend-on-Tyne in the UK in 1924 and was purchased by a Melbourne company. The Mortlake operated between Hexham and Mortlake, transporting coal to the Mortlake Gasworks of the Australian Gas Light Company. On 31 May 1942, during WWII, SS Mortlake Bank entered Sydney Harbour. She passed through the anti-submarine boom net when the Japanese midget submarine (M-24) made entry under the ship’s keel.

Waterbird Refuge

If you follow the 1.3 km walking track past the shipwrecks, the other side of the path is home to the salt marshes of the Waterbird Refuge. We spotted several different bird species on our shipwreck spotting walk.