17 April 2021: This week's story takes us from Rhode Island to the beaches at New South Wales Australia where storms have uncovered a wreck from the late 1800's. It's drawing tourists and locals alike to witness this strange and kind of haunting sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Storms on the NSW Mid North Coast have fully exposed one of the best-preserved shipwrecks in the country, 128 years after it washed ashore.
"Buster" – a 310-tonne timber barquentine – got stranded on Woolgoolga's main beach, north of Coffs Harbour, in 1893.
Now a major tourist attraction for the sleepy town, the wreck is regularly partially exposed — but every few years a major storm uncovers the ship entirely.
Coffs Harbour City councillor and long-time resident Tegan Swan said she had never seen the wreck like this before.
"That is my morning walk, around where the Buster sometimes is and sometimes isn't," she said.
"When I was down there the first time after it was exposed to this level you can actually see the anchor and right down into the bones of the ship.
"It's quite spooky and amazing just to see how thick the wood is, the detail that goes into it, I couldn't stop looking at it.
"You just don't see things like that anymore and to see it out there is quite majestic and a little bit spooky especially at 5:30am."
Cr Swan has lived in the area since she was 18 and has visited Woolgoolga frequently since she was a small child.
"I have never ever seen it this low and – just through local conversations – I haven't come across a single person who has not gone, 'Have you seen Buster recently?'" she said.
Early in the morning I walk down onto the beach and it makes me smile to see just how busy it is with people walking up and down.
"It probably wouldn't be popular to say it, but it does almost sometimes feel a little bit Gold Coasty with how popular we are, even in that early time in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment