More than 850 shipwrecks line South Australia’s coast. They hold stories of disaster, heroism, failure and survival. Whether caused by bad weather, bad luck or bad decisions, shipwrecks have changed people and places forever.

Wrecked! relays gripping accounts of some of those wrecks. The Admella wrecked off Carpenter Rocks, near the Victorian border in 1859, shocked Melbourne and Adelaide when 89 lives were lost.  The exhibition includes artefacts from the Star of Greece which sank just 200 metres off Port Willunga on Friday 13 July 1888, becoming South Australia’s most infamous shipwreck.

Wrecked! explores what the archaeological record can tell us about broader themes of exploration, migration, trade and commerce and about death and mourning, heroes and survivors.

Gallery