Flinders Bay model at the Fremantle museum

Post date: Aug 31, 2019 4:55:43 PM

David Iredale has kindly sent through the following report and photographs covering his visit to the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Australia:    

The SS Flinders Bay Model (wrongly indicated as a ‘MV’) is in the new Fremantle Maritime Museum on the west end of Victoria Quay at the entrance to Fremantle Inner Harbour and is approx 300km north of the small town of Augusta that is on the northern end of Flinders Bay. It says the model was donated by OCL but I’m not sure when. It’s great that it’s on display in the 50th year celebrations of Encounter Bay arriving followed soon after by Flinders Bay in WA and Australia. The model has cutaways showing stowage in the holds, cabins and engine room and looks in good condition. The Flinders Bay met her end in 1996.

Flinders Bay stretches about 120km from Cape Leeuwin (Near Augusta) in the north to Point d’Entrecasteaux in the south, the SS Flinders Bay would have passed this way many times. There are no settlements on the bay, there was a bleak looking mural in the dining saloon of the SS Flinders Bay depicting what I presume was Flinders Bay in WA. Point Matthew near Cape Leeuwin has a plaque marking where Matthew Flinders commenced the charting of the Australian coastline. Matthew Flinders actually named Encounter Bay in South Australia after meeting Nicolas Baudin there.

There’s two YouTube videos of the SS Flinders Bay, one showing a rescue and another covering the last voyage to the scrap yard:

• Flinders Bay - Off Morocco - Fishermen Rescue

• Shipbreaking - Flinders Bay goes to Alang beach

David Iredale