Prominent among the rolling green hills at Green Cape, south of Eden on the New South Wales south coast, are the tombstones erected to the seventy-one people lost in the Ly-ee-moon disaster of 30 May 1886. Built as an iron side paddle wheeler at Blackwall, London in 1859 the vessel was refitted in 1874 and converted to screw propulsion. The new compound engine generated 160 horsepower. The graceful steamer retained an elegant clipper bow and now had a tonnage of 1202 tons and a length of 86 metres.
The wreck of the Ly-ee-moon was one of the most tragic losses on the New South Wales' coast. Driven onto the reef in a frightening sea, the steamer rapidly broke apart exposing all inside to the violence of the gale. One by one they were torn from the hull or swept from the decks to drown or be cast against the rocks. The bow was torn off taking the saloon and thirty passengers with it. They remained with water pouring up to shoulder height. With no air left, they perished, a small boy being the only survivor, having put his head through a porthole; found unconscious, he was given mouth to mouth resuscitation and recovered.
The lighthouse staff could offer no help, forced to watch the terrible scenes before them. In total, seventy-one passengers and crew lost their life. Those bodies that could be recovered were buried in a small cemetery away from the lighthouse.
Depth of site ~13m
