City of York
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | City of York | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | barque | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | Australia | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Sea / ocean | Geographe Bay | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Australia | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 26 km from land |
| Position | -31.9942, 115.4890 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
The City of York was a 1,167 GRT iron ship (it was not a barque) which sank after hitting a reef off Rottnest Island in the last few kilometres of its voyage from San Francisco to Fremantle, Western Australia in 1899.
The three masted, 67.9-metre-long (222.7 ft), iron-hulled ship was built in 1869 by Glasgow shipbuilders J. Elder and Company. The British owners were the 'Ship City of York Company'.
Diving & visiting
The same storm also caused the wrecking of the Carlisle Castle, a 1,508-tonne (1,484-long-ton), 70-metre (230 ft) barque which hit Coventry Reef at 32°20′00″S 115°38′07″E, a few kilometres south of Rottnest and 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of Penguin Island. The ship had been carrying general cargo as well as locking bars which were for the construction of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Between 24 and 26 people were estimated to be on board. All on board were drowned. Initially, it was unclear if there was one or two shipwrecks after debris started floating ashore near South Beach in Fremantle.
Location
- Recorded position: -31.9942, 115.4890 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Geographe Bay
- Nearest coast: Australia
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article City of York (barque) (revision 1373721560), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Another wreck and aftermath”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- Lady Elizabeth 6 km
- Rockingham 1830 · 20 km
- Centaur 1874 · 25 km
- SS Wyola 27 km
- Orizaba 1905 · 35 km
- SS Kwinana 1922 · 38 km
Browse more: Oceania wrecks · wrecks off Australia · Geographe Bay