SS City of Adelaide, Magnetic Island
A quick drive from Picnic Bay and a short walk across the sand at low tide will bring you face-to-face with one of North Queensland’s most tranquil curiosities—the skeletal remains of the SS City of Adelaide. Rusted, half-submerged and now home to mangroves and seabirds, it sits in the shallows of Cockle Bay, slowly being reclaimed by nature.
Built in Glasgow in 1863, the City of Adelaide spent decades carrying passengers and cargo along Australia’s coastline. Like many steamers of its era, it was repurposed several times to suit changing demands, first as a cargo vessel, and later as a coal hulk in Townsville. After a fire gutted its interior in 1912, its working days were over.
In 1916, the vessel was being towed to Picnic Bay to serve as a stationary breakwater when heavy seas snapped the tow line, sending the powerless hull drifting toward Cockle Bay. It ran aground on the reef flats, where it has remained too damaged to re-float, and too stubborn to move.
Over the years, the wreck has weathered cyclones, wartime bombing practice, and countless king tides. Each event has stripped away a little more steel, reshaped its outline, and given new foothold to nature. Today, mangroves rise through its ribs, fish dart in the shallows, and seabirds perch on rusted beams that once held decks and cabins.
The City of Adelaide is one of the easiest shipwrecks in Australia to see up close, yet it never feels like a tourist attraction. The site is quiet, isolated, and easy to explore at your own pace. Walk out at low tide, take care on the slippery mud, and you can stand beside a structure that’s witnessed over 160 years of maritime history. At high tide, the wreck becomes an island of metal and mangrove, and a perfect subject for photographers.
While the hull has slowly collapsed, the wreck remains structurally recognisable, and it continues to attract those interested in Magnetic Island’s layered history. Accessible, atmospheric and undeniably photogenic, the SS City of Adelaide still sits unobtrusively in Cockle Bay, a relic slowly being reclaimed by the sea.
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