Description Shipwrecks of King Island The chilling record of King Island’s shipping disasters – Neva, Cataraqui, British Admiral, Blencartha – testifies to the dangers of navigating the western end of Bass Strait, fraught with rough seas, strong tidal currents and treacherous reefs off King Island. The wreck of the Cataraqui in 1845 remains the worst ever Tasmanian shipwreck in terms of loss of life, with 400 deaths. This book tells the story of the many shipwrecks on the shores of King Island, along with the lighthouses that eventually made shipping less dangerous, and the (comparatively) safe havens of the island’s harbours at Currie, Naracoopa and Grassy.
