The Cumberland sank some five miles south-east of Green Cape on 11 August 1917, in an estimated depth of 50-60 fathoms (~91-110 metres). The steamer had picked up cargo in Townsville, visited Sydney and was heading down the east coast for a voyage to the United Kingdom carrying a cargo of frozen meat, wool and ore.
A terrific explosion occurred below the waterline as the steamer passed a few miles off Gabo Island on 15 July 1917. With water flooding into the forward section, Cumberland was run aground on Gabo Island for urgent repairs. At the time, the explosion was believed to have been caused by a torpedo attack or a bomb placed aboard. It is now generally considered that Cumberland struck a mine laid by the German raider Wolf which had been active in the area.
After five weeks of strenuous repair work by divers and a dedicated salvage team, the tugs James Patterson and Champion were in attendance when the steamer was towed back to Eden for further repairs. However a storm caused the temporary patches to break and the tugs had to run for safety. Two larger steamers, Merimbula and Bermagui, stood by to offer help. Merimbula urgently evacuated Cumberland’s crew when the steamer began to sink bow first, “described by onlookers as an awe-inspiring sight”.
The Cumberland was a steel twin-screw steamship of 8993 gross tons and 144.4 metres in length (474 feet). Built by Hamilton & Co. at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1915, the vessel was registered in London with Official No. 139102. With four masts and owned by the Federal Steam Navigation Company Ltd., Cumberland was powered by four steam turbines.
Local commercial fishermen have periodically reported a large shipwreck off Green Cape, querying whether it was the Cumberland or the large single-screw steamer Recina . The latter vessel had been a WWII war casualty, torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-177 off Gabo Island on 11 April 1943. The 122-metre long (400.8 feet) Recina is thought to have been lost further off the coast. In 2000, CSIRO imaged a large wreck that matched Cumberland's size and approximate position.
Depth of site ~94m
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