Port MacDonnell & District Maritime Museum

The shipwreck coast remembered

Port MacDonnell's coastline is beautiful and lethal in equal measure, and this volunteer-run museum holds the evidence: the stories of more than 30 ships wrecked along the district's reefs, told through salvaged timbers, ships' logs, diaries and recovered artefacts.

The most significant collection relates to the SS Admella, wrecked on a reef off Cape Banks in 1859 with the loss of 89 lives — among the worst maritime disasters in Australian history. The museum's Admella display includes the ship's bell and a small bronze cannon recovered from the wreck, and it makes a natural starting point before driving the Admella Discovery Trail, whose interpretive markers trace the tragedy along the coast.

Beyond the wrecks, the museum covers Port MacDonnell's improbable nineteenth-century career as one of South Australia's busiest trading ports, and its modern title as the state's southern rock lobster capital. Opening hours are limited, so check locally before visiting; the museum is an easy walk from the foreshore.