‘Tilba’, 1912

The ‘Tilba’ was a 126-foot, 200-ton (or 97-ton, depending upon the source) wooden steamer that was built at Coopernook (near Taree) in 1908. She was built to transport timber and was originally called the ‘Uralla’. However, when purchased by the Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company in 1911 her name was changed to the ‘Tilba’.

She left Narooma at 4pm on Sunday November 17th 1912 with a cargo of timber, bound for Wollongong. At 4.30am the next day she hit rocks in Wreck Bay, south of Jervis Bay. The crew got safely to shore.

There was some initial hope of refloating her ‘if the north-east winds continue. If the wind changes to a strong southerly, however, the chances of getting her off the rocks will be small.’ Ultimately her engine and boilers were salvaged and these were later installed in the ‘Belmore’ in 1914.