Jane Spiers Beach was named after the sinking of a timber barque there on 14 January, 1878. The 35.7m barque on a voyage from Melbourne to Newcastle struck rocks near Cape Everard in Victoria and was fatally holed. For thirteen hours the crew attempted to reach Twofold Bay by rigging a sail under the bow to fight the inrush of water. Sand ballast eventually choked the pumps near Gabo Island and it was expected that the vessel would capsize at any moment. With decks awash, the barque proceeded slowly north under all sail.
At night an anchor was dropped about 500 metres from shore and the crew transferred to the Helen White, which had stood by all day. At about 11pm, the Jane Spiers was seen to sink with all sails set. The wreck site has not been located and the isolated beach can be reached only by boat or foot.
Built at Ardrossan, Scotland in 1851, the 309 ton Jane Spiers was registered in Melbourne.
