Stockton Beach is located north of the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. It is 32 km (20 mi) long and stretches from Stockton, to Anna Bay. Over many years Stockton Beach has been the site of numerous shipwrecks and aircraft crashes. In World War II it was fortified against a possible attack by Imperial Japanese forces. During that time it served as a bombing and gunnery range as well as a dumping area for unused bombs by aircraft returning from training sorties. The length of the beach, its generally hard surface and numerous items of interest along the beach make it popular with four-wheel drive (4WD) enthusiasts. Four-wheel drive vehicles are permitted to drive on Stockton Beach provided the vehicles are in possession of valid permits. The beach is also popular with fishermen and several different varieties of fish may be caught.
Edwin was a ship that was wrecked near Cape Hawke, New South Wales, Australia in late June 1816.
The Santiago was a 455-ton barque launched in 1856. It was built by Henry Balfour of Methil, Fife for the Liverpool shipping company Balfour Williamson. It sailed mainly between Liverpool and Chile, but also to Australia. Its remnant hull, which lies in a ships' graveyard in South Australia, was considered 'the oldest intact iron hull sailing vessel in the world', until part of the central section collapsed in January 2023.
Wendouree was a steel steamship built as a collier by S & H Morton & Co., Leith, Scotland for Huddart Parker & Co. Pty. Ltd. She was later refitted to carry passengers for the Melbourne to Sydney run.
SS Lindus was an Australian iron-hulled coastal cargo ship driven by a 160 H.P. 2-cylinder compound steam engine with a top cruising speed of 10 knots. She was built in 1881 by Edward Withy & Co., Hartlepool, England. Her engines were built by T. Richardson & Sons, Hartlepool. She had a complement of 24 crewmembers.
The Abbey was a wooden brigantine that was wrecked at Crowdy Head, New South Wales in 1868.
The Ability was a wooden Steamer coastal transport cargo ship of 140 tons, owned by Parsons, R & Plunkett. She was scuttled and abandoned off Newcastle, New South Wales on 3 June 1960 or off Sydney on 3 April 1965.
The Acme was a wooden top sail schooner that was driven ashore at Seal Rocks, New South Wales while carrying timber from Camden Haven to Sydney under the command of Captain James Henry Jackson on the 15 July 1876. There were no casualties.
Active was a wooden ketch that was wrecked on 19 January 1898 on the Oyster Bank at the entrance of Newcastle Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, near the previously wrecked schooner Colonist while carrying a cargo of ironbark to Morpeth, New South Wales, under the command of Captain P. Williams. There were no casualties but the ship was lost. The wreck has not been located, but the approximate co-ordinates of the shipwreck are 32.92°S 151.79°E.
Ada and Ethel was a wooden schooner that was wrecked 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Seal Rocks, New South Wales, Australia, on 26 October 1887.
Adelaide was a wooden cutter used in the cedar trade that was wrecked and lost off the Hawkesbury River in Broken Bay, New South Wales, in July 1837 while carrying a load of cedar. The wreck has not been located, but a vessel of its description was reported capsized between Cabbage Tree Bay and Bird Island at approximately 33.6°S 151.3°E.
The Adolphus was a wooden brigantine that was wrecked on the rocks west of Pier Head at Wollongong harbour in New South Wales on 29 November 1866. The ship was carrying coal from Wollongong to Sydney under the command of Captain William Kean. There were no casualties, but the vessel was lost. The wreck has not been located, but the approximate coordinates are 34.4189°S 150.9071°E.
The Advance was a wooden topsail schooner built in 1872 at Terrigal, that was wrecked when it missed stays whilst carrying ballast between Botany Bay and Port Stephens under the command of Captain J. Delaney and was lost at Henry Head Bight, Botany Bay, New South Wales on 11 February 1884
The Advance was a diesel powered wooden carvel schooner built in 1903 at Kaipara, that was wrecked at Wreck Bay, New South Wales in 1915. The wreck has not been located, but the approximate coordinates are 35.19°S 150.65°E.
Adventure was a wooden sloop that was built in 1834 at Brisbane Water. She was wrecked on the coast of New South Wales during a storm in July 1836, but the exact position where she was lost is uncertain.
Aeolus was a wooden ketch built in 1850 at Pyrmont, New South Wales, Australia. She was carrying timber to Sydney, New South Wales, when she was lost at Hole in the Wall, Jervis Bay, New South Wales, on 24 October 1867. The wreck has not been located, but its approximate position is 35.134648°S 150.745874°E.
Fitzroy was a steel-hulled steamship built in 1912 at Old Kilpatrick, Scotland in 1912. Thirty-one people were killed when Fitzroy capsized in a gale whilst carrying a general cargo between Coffs Harbour and Sydney off Cape Hawke, New South Wales on 26 June 1921.
HMAS Goolgwai was an auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. She was launched in 1919 by Collingwood Shipbuilding Company at Collingwood, Ontario, Canada as Almeria. The ship operated in Australian waters from 1928, and was requisitioned by the RAN on 3 September 1939. She was returned to her owners in 1945 before being wrecked near Malabar, Sydney, on 29 May 1955.
Grecian was a sailing ship built in England in 1824. She was wrecked on Nine Mile Beach, New South Wales during a gale on 30 April 1864. Captain Grant lost his life.
SS Colonist was a British iron-hulled coastal cargo ship driven by a 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine. She was built in 1889 by Osbourne, Graham & Co. Ltd, North Hylton, England. She had a complement of 29 crewmembers.
