The triple expansion iron
steamship Malachite was scuttled as a hulk in the Sydney Disposal Area
on 28 May 1946. The steel coastal steamer was built in Scotland in 1894 and
registered in Sydney by the owner, Bellambi Coal Co.
This wreck was discovered by Paul Wright, Nick Windle and Scott
Egginton on 2 March 2014 using a magnetometer. The finders of the site undertook further
research in conjunction with shipwreck researcher Scott Willan to determine
what ship it was, and the site has now been identified as the Malachite. Congratulations to
the finders on the discovery of this new site and all those involved in determining
its identity!
The wreck lies just north of North Head at the entrance to Sydney Harbour,
approximately 1km offshore in 47m of water. This steel/ iron wreck
has a very fine bow and is approximately 63m long. The stern is facing towards
North Head and lies on a rock bottom with the bow situated on sand. There
are large piles of rocks to each side of the wreck and small pieces of coal are
evident around the site. The GPS marks for the site have been taken at
the bow. The site has a very low elevation (less than 1-2m high),
does not show up well on depth sounders, and is located on the edge of a sand
field with rocks on each side of the hull.
