In 1848 a two-masted 225 ton wooden brig named ‘The Tigress’ set out from Scotland with a load of general cargo bound for Port Adelaide, South Australia. After such a long and difficult journey she made it to within 50 nautical miles of Port Adelaide before gale force winds swept her onto reef south of Port Noarlunga. In the subsequent efforts to get to the shore two souls were lost, the captain Alexander Guthrie and a passenger Francis Frew.

In 1970 the Scuba Divers Club of South Australia moved the anchor from the original Tigress wreck site and placed it here at along the reef at Port Noarlunga.

Most divers who dive the inside reef at Port Noarlunga are unaware of the history here and simply use this as the half way marker for their dive.

My thanks to local maritime historians Steve Reynolds and Christopher Deane and their web articles for the back story.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 688, Gloomy Memorial’, 1/200s f/8 ISO320 15mm