The drama and tragedy of shipwrecks along the Australian coast feature in Wrecked! Tragedy and the Southern Seas at the National Archives of Australia from 26 July.

The travelling exhibition, curated by the South Australian Maritime Museum, is on show in Canberra until mid-October thanks to a grant from Visions of Australia.

‘The early Australian colonies were totally dependent on the sea for trade, industry, culture, migration, travel and survival,' said curator Kristy Dermody from the South Australian Maritime Museum, who installed the exhibition at the National Archives.'

‘Shipwrecks could lose an entire community’s supplies or destroy valuable export goods. These were the days when travel by ship could be extremely dangerous or fatal.’

One of the most catastrophic maritime disasters in Australia’s history was the sinking of the Star of Greece. After leaving Port Adelaide with a heavy load of 16,002 bags of wheat, the ship ran into a violent storm off Port Willunga in the early hours of Friday, 13 July 1888.

Nineteen people died in the cold seas before lifesaving equipment arrived – 14 hours after the ship had sunk.

Among the exhibits in Wrecked! is the figurehead from the Star of Greece, one of Australia’s most significant maritime treasures, together with other items from the wreck and original songs and poems written at the time to commemorate the shipwreck.

Another dark moment in Australia’s colonial past was the wreck of the steamship Admella and the deaths of 89 passengers. The ship struck a reef off Carpenter Rocks in South Australia, on its way from Adelaide to Melbourne, in the early hours of 6 August 1859.

Pounding seas thwarted all rescue attempts and many people took days to die in the sea. The wreck of the Admella brought South Australia to its knees and affected every aspect of life.

‘We felt it was important to present the drama, tragedy, people and extraordinary events surrounding some of these shipwrecks and at the same time illustrate their impact on the colonies and the country itself. We also saw an opportunity to bring to life some of our most beautiful and intriguing shipwreck treasures,’ said Kristy Dermody.

The exhibition is supported by Flinders Ports and Pacific Marine Batteries and developed and toured with the support of Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program providing funding assistance for the development and touring of cultural material across Australia.