Maritime · Evidence-led place record
Maid of Australia
SW corner of Wardang Island, 400 m SE of the Notre Dame D'Arvor wreck site, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia.
Maid of Australia was a schooner built in 1869 and lost on 08/07/1899. While en route from Point Turton to Port Pirie on 8 July 1899 with a cargo of flux, the vessel was on a course direct for Wardang Island. The course alteration to the west was made too late for the vessel to clear the land. It struck a reef about 1.2 km
The oddity, explained
Why is Maid of Australia unusual?
Maid of Australia appears here because the approved source classifies it as maritime. The source describes it as Maid of Australia was a schooner built in 1869 and lost on 08/07/1899. While en route from Point Turton to Port Pirie on 8 July 1899 with a cargo of flux, the vessel was on a course direct for Wardang Island. The course alteration to the west was made too late for the vessel to clear the land. It struck a reef about 1.2 km. Heritage Atlas treats that specific classification-and-description combination as the oddity; the score is a comparative discovery signal, not proof of mystery or the supernatural. Compare nearby records and the linked country or category collection to understand how this entry relates to places supported by the same governed evidence.
Evidence and further exploration
The coordinate, category and description remain tied to the cited source. Comparative oddness helps discovery; it does not add facts that the source does not provide.
Data last collected: 3 September 2026 for this retained atlas release. Page and source last rechecked: 3 September 2026. Treat the record as a research starting point: open the original source, confirm current access conditions and compare the mapped location with local guidance before travelling. A missing field means the approved source did not support it; it is not evidence that the feature or restriction does not exist.
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