Such was the impact when the steamer Maitland wrecked in 1898 that it led to the naming of a bay, a bombora and the storm that sank it.
The sleek 70-metre vessel was built at Glasgow, United Kingdom, in 1870 and was famed as a regular trader on the New South Wales coast.
On the night of 5 May 1898, passengers queued to board at Sydney for the 11.00 p.m. departure. By the time they passed out of Sydney Heads a frightening gale had struck. The Maitland began shipping water that flooded the engine fires. At dawn, seas drove the disabled steamer onto East Reef, Broken Bay. With a mighty crash that drove the vessel high into the air, the hull was wrenched apart amidships. Most of the crew and steerage passengers in the forward section were carried to their deaths.
Those swept ashore alive were severely injured by jagged rocks and pounding surf. After several nerve-racking attempts, a line was secured from the beach to where others clung to the stern. At one stage four of the crew including the Stewardess were crossing when the line broke. Of this group only the Third Engineer made it to safety.
The tragic death of 24 from 63 aboard appalled the population. One remarkable tale of survival involved a baby, Daisy Hammond. Many years later, Daisy visited the wreck. When she died in 1988 at the age of 90, she had her ashes flown from Canada and scattered over
Maitland site.
