After telling ex-crew member Maggy Volovinis that they were to spend a week on Fuerteventura last month, she said we MUST visit the ‘Australis’ at Playa de Garcey whilst there. Although Ianni and Kath had only worked on the ‘Britanis’, ‘Ellinis’ and ‘Regina Prima’, they thought it might be a nice day out. It was a bright but windy day, and as Kath & Ianni only had a small hire car, they decided it would probably be more advisable not to tempt fate along the dirt roads, but to walk to see what was left of the old lady.

If they had known just how far the wreck was away from the main road, Kath & Ianni might not have made the pilgrimage (as they are not so young any more). As you can see from the attached photos, there really isn’t a lot of the wreck left anymore, they were glad they made the effort. It brought a tear to their eyes to see her still proudly poking out of the water. Kath & Ianni said "If anybody else still wants to see her, they’d better hurry up".

Andy Lawrence from Rotherham, UK wrote that he had just recently returned from a two week holiday in Fuerteventura. He said "It was very sad to see the ship in the state it's in, as I saw her when I was a child, when I waved my gran off on the start of her journey to Melbourne, Australia".

*I was surprised to see so much of the wreck was still visible above the surface after all this time, it just shows how strong the hull had been built. I would have expected her to have disappeared below the water by now.* (Ken)

Justyn Greentree and his partner visited the wreck in Fuerteventura earlier this month, and took these two dramatic photos below. They were taken on 6.02.08. Justyn knew very little about the history of the ship, but loved reading all about her on this site. They were on vacation at the time, and are from Norfolk, in the UK.

Catherine Wilkes and her husband have just returned from Fuerteventura and have kindly sent me their latest pictures. As you can see she is still hanging in there, but for how much longer, who knows. Catherine has taken some of these photos from different angles on the beach, a few are taken through the rocks along the shore. There are more photos taken by Catherine and her husband further down this page. (see: Added On 13/06/2007).

Eros Bonfanti was on holiday in Fuerteventura and decided to take a trip to the wreck. As you can see from these two photos below, it will not be long before the wreck will probably disappear under the water. Eros was on vacation from Italy when he took the pictures. You can clearly see that there is not much left to the wreck now - I wish I had gone over with Doug Griffiths (ex-passenger who ran a web-site about the ship). He came over to see me here in the UK, from New Zealand, and visited the wreck several times during his stay.

Catherine Wilkes and her husband visited the shipwreck, just as they do every year, when they go to Caleta de Fuste in Fuerteventura. They were both shocked at the deterioration since they were last there in December 2006. Catherine remarked that the beach area around the wreck is so beautiful and romantic. It landed in an ideal setting for it's remaining days. She really hopes it is still there when they return at Christmas.

The first three photos were taken in December 2006 and the rest are from 29th May 2007.

These dramatic photos were sent in by Steve Whittington and were taken on the 18th. of March.

  Anyone interested in knowing how to get to the wreck can find details at this site: Fuerteventura Tourist Information

This page was designed by: Ken Ironside.

Due to a huge volume of questions I am asked, for which often I do not have the information, I have decided to ask that only ex-crew actually write to me please. I am delighted with everyones contributions, and will occasionally update the Australis web site, using photos/stories etc sent to me. However I cannot answer any more questions. Thankyou for your sustained interest in the SS Australis Homepage. Please e-mail me on this link: Contact.