SS Dicky Exhibition
Learn the story of this local landmark. Image courtesy Nadine Katic, 2016
The Screw Steamer Dicky was an iron-hulled steamship, launched in Germany in 1883. The ship carried general cargo including timber, coal, passengers, horses, dynamite, pearl shell, mail, equipment, tallow and hides between ports in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
On 4 February 1893, the SS Dicky was deliberately driven ashore at Caloundra during heavy seas, ironically to prevent being wrecked on the rocks at Moffat Beach. Four attempts were made to refloat the vessel, but on each occasion it ran aground and was eventually abandoned.
The shipwreck has long been an attraction for holiday-makers, swimmers, surfers, and photographers, as well as a significant heritage icon. Parts of the main portion of the keel and hull remain buried at the beach.
More information including 3D videos of the SS Dicky reconstructed, 3D images of excavated wreck pieces and community photos.
View the film Time and Tide – The SS Dicky story
Excavated Object SP-001-001: Section of the ship stern. The assembly comprises the stern post, top of the rudder aperture and letter box bulkhead with hull. It is heavily concreted with a large amount of marine growth. Measurements 2.59 m x 1.60 m. The details of the object were carefully recorded by the archaeologists. Sunshine Coast Heritage Collection
![Clockwise from left Coil of Cable: “When I was a child… a cyclone exposed an unusual depth of the wreck [c.1975]. Timber beams and floorboards could be seen and deep in the stern I found this coil of cable…” Steven Wilson. Courtesy Dicky Beach Surf Club. Mast and porthole: Many items were salvaged or “souvenired” from the wreck over the years including a section of the mast and a brass porthole from the wheelhouse door. Courtesy Landsborough Museum.](https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/c631baf8-1b46-001f-580c-d0001b68b4a8/8660d9a7-5df5-4e09-8891-05ab847ab3e6/F4B56B17-7596-4451-9038-1479B6E3EE53?w=800&fm=webp)
Clockwise from left Coil of Cable: “When I was a child… a cyclone exposed an unusual depth of the wreck [c.1975]. Timber beams and floorboards could be seen and deep in the stern I found this coil of cable…” Steven Wilson. Courtesy Dicky Beach Surf Club. Mast and porthole: Many items were salvaged or “souvenired” from the wreck over the years including a section of the mast and a brass porthole from the wheelhouse door. Courtesy Landsborough Museum.
Holiday photograph c.1940. An unusual perspective from the deck of the SS Dicky. Courtesy Jeff Auckland.
Correspondence: These letters from Mr. Henderson (1909-2003) to Mr Crees in 1983 outline part of the history of the salvaged bell. “I do not personally know how my late father acquired the bell…but my elder sister told me he bought it at an auction of the ship’s fittings. The bell was used for many years in my father’s Sun Engineering Works, Wickham St, Valley, as a “time” signal. After his death in 1930 and the subsequent closure of the Works I recovered it…” Courtesy Dicky Beach Surf Club.
SS Dicky Replica Bell 2016. Olds Engineering in Maryborough were contracted to create three replica bells, using a mould cast from the original. It is anticipated that one bell will become part of an interpretive display at Dicky Beach Park. Sunshine Coast Heritage Collection.
SS Dicky Replica Bell 2016. Olds Engineering in Maryborough were contracted to create three replica bells, using a mould cast from the original. It is anticipated that one bell will become part of an interpretive display at Dicky Beach Park. Sunshine Coast Heritage Collection.
The earliest known image of the vessel taken in 1893 after it was stranded on the beach. Pictured in the foreground is Thomas Welsby – Queensland politician, businessman, and author. Welsby, JC Moffat and another man, purchased a vast parcel of land north of Caloundra. The partners drew lots for the choice site and Moffat won. Trundle, Gwen. “The early days of Caloundra”, 1958, p.24. Image courtesy Picture Sunshine Coast.
Spink family members standing by the rusting remains of the SS Dicky c.1923. Donald Spink (centre) with his mother-in-law, Catherine Turner (left), his daughter, Nancy (centre foreground) and a young family friend or relative (right). Photograph taken by Donald's wife Bessie Spink. Courtesy Lindsay Powell.
Unveiling of the Propeller Memorial, 24 November 1963. Commissioned by the Queensland Women’s Historical Society, the memorial cairn was unveiled by Premier Frank Nicklin. The bell is visible in the foreground. Courtesy Picture Sunshine Coast.
Archaeological Excavation, Thursday 30 July 2015. Decades of storms, cyclones, pounding waves, and time itself, gradually reduced the once mighty iron steamer to a remnant of its former self. The wreck was critically weakened by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald in 2013. A long term management strategy was developed to preserve the SS Dicky. Sunshine Coast Council removed the exposed elements of the wreck. Courtesy Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
The details of the objects removed during the archaeological excavation were carefully recorded by the archaeologists, as shown in this catalogue record for the excavated object SP-001-001.
Excavated Object SP-001-001: Section of the ship stern. The assembly comprises the stern post, top of the rudder aperture and letter box bulkhead with hull. It is heavily concreted with a large amount of marine growth. Measurements 2.59 m x 1.60 m. The details of the object were carefully recorded by the archaeologists. Sunshine Coast Heritage Collection
Clockwise from left Coil of Cable: “When I was a child… a cyclone exposed an unusual depth of the wreck [c.1975]. Timber beams and floorboards could be seen and deep in the stern I found this coil of cable…” Steven Wilson. Courtesy Dicky Beach Surf Club. Mast and porthole: Many items were salvaged or “souvenired” from the wreck over the years including a section of the mast and a brass porthole from the wheelhouse door. Courtesy Landsborough Museum.