A 120-year-old shipping tragedy mystery, which included the bodies of crew members and debris from the vessel being washed up on Cronulla beach, has been solved.
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The wreck of the SS Nemesis, which went down with 32 crew, has been accidentally found 26 kilometres off Port Kembla at a depth of about 160 metres.
Following identification of the vessel, the state government is hoping to connect with relatives of crew members, including three men buried in an unmarked grave in Woronora Memorial Park at Sutherland.
Heritage NSW says members of the lost crew came from Australia, the United Kingdom and one from Canada.
The SS Nemesis departed Newcastle on July 9, 1904, loaded with coal and headed to Melbourne. It was last sighted in distress in rough seas off Wollongong by another ship also caught in the storm.
The loss attracted significant attention from the media and public. Over several weeks, bodies of crew members, as well as fragments of the ship's steering wheel, doors and other floating wreckage, washed ashore at Cronulla Beach.
However, the location of the 73-metre-long vessel remained unknown.
More than a century later in 2022, remote sensing company Subsea Professional Marine Services stumbled across the wreck while trying to locate cargo containers lost off the coast of Sydney.
The SS Nemesis was undisturbed, some 26 kilometres offshore and approximately 160 metres underwater.
NSW Heritage experts, who had spent years investigating and surveying the ocean-floor, immediately suspected they had found SS Nemesis. But identifying it was a challenge as it was so far offshore, in deep, high current water.
Additional underwater imagery captured by CSIRO provided the evidence needed to confirm the ship's distinctive features aligned with historical photographs and sketches of SS Nemesis. Images show the iron wreck resting upright on a broad sand plain, with significant damage to its bow and stern.
It also revealed a series of clues as to why the ship sank that night. It is thought the engine became overwhelmed in the storm, and when SS Nemesis was hit by a large wave she sank too quickly for life boats to be deployed.
NSW Minister for Environment and Heritage Penny Sharpe said the loss of Nemesis had been described as one of Sydney's most enduring maritime mysteries and has even been described by shipwreck researchers as the "holy grail".
"Thanks to collaborative work with CSIRO and Subsea, using modern technology and historical records, Heritage NSW has been able to write the final chapter of SS Nemesis' story," she said.
"Around 40 children lost their parents in this wreck and I hope this discovery brings closure to families and friends connected to the ship who have never known its fate."
CSIRO Voyage Manager, Jason Fazey said, "Our technical team aboard CSIRO research vessel, RV Investigator, did an amazing job in mapping the entire site and capturing very clear vision of the wreck using one of our underwater camera systems.
"Using RV Investigator's advanced multibeam echosounders, we were able to create a high-resolution map of the entire wreck and measure key dimensions to aid in its identification.
"Everyone aboard was honoured to be able to contribute to this project and assist Heritage NSW's maritime archaeology experts in the successful identification of SS Nemesis to help bring closure to another one of our nation's maritime tragedies."
Anyone with a connection to SS Nemesis are asked to contact Heritage NSW: heritagemailbox@environment.nsw.gov.au
