A gale and equipment failures on January 8, 1972 saw three ferries break from their moorings in Trial Bay. The ferries were forced onto Front Beach by the strong winds and that was their final resting place. The showboat Sydney Queen (ex Kalang), and two vehicular ferries, the Koondooloo and Lurgurena, were being towed to Manilla, as they had been sold for scrap after serving their working lives in Sydney Harbour, New Guinea and Newcastle. Polaris, the tug that was towing the vessels, put into Trial Bay for repairs following the loss, by sinking, of another vehicular ferry, the Kooroongaba, that is was also towing, at Crowdy Head. The ferries have been slowly disappearing over the years, but storms and huge seas in May 2009, have removed thousands of tonnes of sand from Front Beach and revealed parts of the ferries thought to be lost. The rusting remains of the Koondooloo can be seen in the sand dunes of Front Beach and the loading ramp supports of the Lurgurena can be seen nearby at the waterline, depending on the tide. The remains of the Sydney Queen have now reappeared in the surf between the Lurgurena and the South West Rocks. The wrecks are now a well entrenched part of South West Rocks history, and will eventually succumb to the elements, but for the moment, Mother Nature has decided to show them off for a while. Here's a site that shows the stranded ferries on Front Beach in 1972. Click on the thumbnails to see a larger image or to go to the next level thumbnail gallery.

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