The Leprena Wreck (1964)

The 1912-built Leprena was a wooden, two-masted fishing trawler that was wrecked off Port Moorowie on the Yorke Peninsula on 12th February 1964. (It should not be confused with the schooner Leprena that was wrecked off Tasmania in 1925.)

The fishing trawler Leprena was destroyed by fire in 1964, and her crew of six were lost. The fire had started in the engine room, and the vessel sank after several dramatic explosions.

The wreck site of the Leprena was ‘discovered’ around 1995 when Kym Bray revealed its location to the Department of Environment’s State Heritage Branch. The wreck was found 30m off an isolated beach between Black Hill and Port Moorowie.

According to a post on the Heritage South Australia Facebook page in April 2021, “Leprena was built by Phillip B. Forbes at Lake Maquarie (NSW) and launched under the name Forbes Bothers in 1912. On 12 February 1964 an electrical fault in the engine room caused a fire and explosion. The crew abandoned ship 3 miles off Port Moorowie, rowing ashore in a dinghy and skiff. Later the same evening, the gutted hull came ashore near Port Moorowie.

“Today, the site is mostly covered with sand. Visible remains include the frames and planking on the starboard stern of the hull, and the engine mounting that also possibly housed the propellor shaft. The wreck lies parallel to shore, bow pointing west, about 30-35 m from shore.”

There are some images of the wreck site and some remains of the wreck on the Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database web page.

The Facebook post features a wonderful photo of the Leprena from the Gifford Chapman collection: -

 

The Leprena as a trading ketch

(Image courtesy of the Kingston (Southeast) branch of the National Trust of SA)

 This photo of the Leprena was taken at the Port Victoria jetty: -

 

Garry Keywood wrote this piece about the stranding of the ketch Forbes Brothers in 1931 as part of his “First Impressions – A story of Coffin’s Bay and Vicinity”: -

 

According to “Shipwrecks of South Australia – A Data Base (1802- 1989)” by Peter Christopher, the dimensions of the Leprena were 105 tons, 93/23/7 feet (92.8 x 22.8 x 6.6). Those became the dimensions when the Forbes Brothers was lengthened and renamed in 1938.

According to the State Library of South Australia, “'Leprena' wooden schooner at Port Adelaide [wooden 2 mast ketch 143 tons ON131506. 70 gross, 67 net tons. 75.0 x 22.5 x 6.8. Built 1912 Philip B Forbes, Lake Macquarie, NSW and registered at Port Adelaide in 1923, having formerly been owned in Melbourne. Lengthened and renamed 'Leprena' in May 1938 = 105 gross, 85 net tons. 92.8 x 22.8 x 6.6. Requisitioned by Commonwealth Government during WW2 but returned to commercial service in 1946. Ultimately became a fishing vessel and was destroyed by fire off Port Moorowie, SA Feb. 12, 1964. See 'Ketches of South Australia' Parsons, 1978]”

According to “'Ketches of South Australia” by Ronald Parsons, the Forbes Brothers/Leprena was an auxiliary ketch. Its 30bhp auxiliary engine could ‘sail’ at a speed of 6 knots.