157-Year-Old Shipwreck Hull in Australia Transforms Into ‘Floating Forest’ With Mangrove Trees
Off the shores of Australia, a 19th-century steamship sits in the sea, overrun by mangrove trees. What now looks like a carefully crafted art installation is actually the remains of the SS City of Adelaide, which sailed the seas for over 50 years before running aground. Located in Cockle Bay, Magnetic Island, the ship’s history underwater is just as, if not more, fascinating as its time at sea.
Launched in 1863 from
Glasgow, Scotland, the SS City
of Adelaide originally shuttled passengers between
destinations like Sydney, Melbourne, and Honolulu. After nearly 30 years, the
ship was refitted and transformed into a sailing vessel. That’s when the
problems started. First, the boat switched from ferrying passengers to storing
coal and other cargo. In 1912, it caught fire and burned for several days
before the flames were extinguished.
Then, three years later,
the ship was purchased by George Butler, a Magnetic Island resident who thought
he could use it as a breakwater for a jetty in Picnic Bay. Unfortunately, as it
was being towed to its destination, the SS
City of Adelaide ran aground in Cockle Bay. It remains there
to this day and with the passing decades, its condition has continued to
worsen.
In fact, the SS City of Adelaide’s
misfortunes only grew over time. The wreck proved hazardous during WWII, when
one of the tall masts took down a bomber during a training exercise. Three
members of the Royal Australian Air Force and one member of the United States
Navy were 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed in the accident. Then, in the
1970s, a cyclone struck nearby and caused the ship’s iron hull to partially
collapse.
These incidents,
together with the natural disintegration of the ship, have slowly chipped away
at what’s left of the SS
City of Adelaide. Now, the carcass of the ship has become home to a
blossoming forest of mangroves. Adapted to living in harsh conditions, the
trees have found themselves right at home in the silted-up remains of the ship.
Interestingly, though the SS
City of Adelaide ran around over 100 years ago, the mangroves
are relatively new.
“I remember only a few small mangroves in the remains of the imposing hull when I used to walk out to it as a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, 20 years ago,” writes a Redditor who lives near the wreck. “But nowadays the hull is in pieces and, as you can see, the mangroves have become established.”
The Redditor also
mentions that, since it’s located in an Australian Marine Park, it receives
special protection. Commercial fishing and trawlers that could disturb the area
are prohibited, allowing the mangroves to grow in peace and slowly overtake
this industrial ruin. As one of twenty shipwrecks around the island, tourists
continue to flock to see what remains of the SS
City of Adelaide.In 1916, the SS
City of Adelaide ran aground off the shores of Magnetic Island
in Australia.