Forming an island in the North Arm are the remains of the Dorothy H Stirling. Visiting her skeletal remains at low tide will allow a good view of the remaining barnacle encrusted ribs.
Built in 1920 in Portland, Oregon, she was a six-masted wooden schooner that was originally named the Oregon Pine and was one of the largest sailing vessels at the time (measuring 267.0 feet or 81.4m). In the 1920's steamers gradually took over in the trans-Pacific trade so the need for the wooden sailing clippers slowly dwindled. The schooner arrived in port with more than 2 million feet (4500 cubic metres) of lumber from the United States in February 1929.
A victim of the Great Depression, her owners were unable to pay both harbour dues and wages of the crew so she was eventually abandoned with the Harbors Board putting her up for auction in an effort to recoup the mounting harbor fees. After all useful items were removed the remains of the vessel were towed to the North Arm to be a source of free firewood for the unemployed.
The aerial photo of the Dorothy H Stirling was taken by Steve Duncan (2016 AIPP Landscape Photographer of the Year). His work can be seen at his website at: steveduncanart.com The photo was taken by a drone (Phantom 3 Pro) and he has generously allowed us to use this image
For more information about trails in South Australia including bike, walking, scuba and horse trails go to Trails SA website: www.southaustraliantrails.com
