Gudrun Anchor and Chain
Anchor and two metres of chain
Gudrun 1880-1901
The fate of the three-masted wooden barque
The 992 tonne three-masted wooden barque was built in 1880 in Canada for English shipowner J Roberts. In 1890 Matthias Hansen of Norway bought the vessel, then named Braidwood and renamed it Gudrun.
In August 1901, when sailing from Bunbury to Falmouth England with a cargo of timber, the Gudrun 'put into Fremantle in a leaking condition. The disgruntled ship's carpenter was charged with boring holes in the hull. As he was not an Australian citizen, the case could not proceed.
Back on board, the offender may have sabotaged the barque again. Within weeks the Gudrun was taking on water. On 23 October the captain had no choice but to head for the nearest safe haven, Shark Bay.
The sinking ship was beached on Cape Peron flats, north of Denham. A gale on 14 November 1901 dashed all hopes of saving the Gudrun.
Gudrun anchor
Two anchors were laid out to keep the ship steady. One later recovered from the Gudrun wreck site by WA Museum divers, is a common type of Admiralty anchor from the mid to late nineteenth century. The second anchor and another of similar style can be seen on the wreck site, left in place for divers to visit.
The wrecksite today
The ship has become a haven for marine life. Its location was forgotten until June 1989 when the wreck was found by Canadian zoologist. Professor Paul Anderson, when studying dugong in Shark Bay.
The Gudrun has been declared a Historic Shipwreck under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act. In January 1993 it was gazetted the Gudrun Wreck Sanctuary Zone under the Conservation and Land Management Act. The area around the wreck site is closed to fishing. Divers are welcome to look but marine life or artefacts must not be removed from the protected zone.
If you visit the Gudrun, enjoy the wreck and its inhabitants but take nothing but photographs.
The figurehead
The gracefully carved Gudrun figurehead of a woman in flowing robes is particularly beautiful. It was purchased by Mr Foss, Carnarvon's first Resident Magistrate, soon after the barque was wrecked. remained in the Residency garden for many years until acquired by the Berry family of Carnarvon. In 1967 Mr Eric Berry donated the figurehead to the WA Museum.
