A massive timber jetty constructed primarily of local jarrah and karri.
Owner:
M.C. Davies Karri and Jarrah Timber Company (later part of Millars’ Karri and Jarrah Company).
Construction:
Timber
Sunk:
The jetty was severely damaged during the same 1900 gales that wrecked the fleet. While repaired, the rise of the railway to Busselton and the safer port at Bunbury made Hamelin Bay redundant. It was officially closed in the 1920s and largely dismantled or left to the elements.
Size:
Original Length: 200 meters (approx.) Final Length: Over 550 meters (1,800 ft) at its peak. Depth at End: Approx. 6–7 meters, allowing large barques to moor directly alongside.
Underwater:
The remains of the jetty continue underwater for several hundred meters. The seabed is littered with fallen jarrah pylons, heavy iron “dogs” (fasteners), and sections of the original tramway rail. These ruins provide an artificial reef structure that is home to a famous population of large stingrays (Smooth Rays and Eagle Rays) that frequent the shallow water where the jetty once met the shore.
Built:
1882 Commissioned by Maurice Coleman Davies. It was extended multiple times to reach deeper water as larger ships began frequenting the bay.
Location:
The shore end is located directly in front of the current Hamelin Bay boat ramp/car park.
Sinking:
The jetty faced northwest, directly into the path of winter “blows.” The disasters of 1900, where multiple ships were wrecked within sight of the jetty—including the Arcadia which crashed into the structure itself—proved that the anchorage was too dangerous.
