Grinding wheel from the wreck of FATIMA located in ‘Wreck Bay’

FATIMA was a ship of 441 tons built in 1849.

While under the command of Captain Hardie, FATIMA was wrecked on Great Detached Reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef system, in 1854. Most of the crew were rescued by the Dutch ship BATO which picked up ten men from the wreck off Raine Island, then continued to the wreck to rescue those remaining.

The grindstone wheel was used for milling flour. In some cases they were wrapped in the shroud of a dead sailor being consigned to the deep, to ensure that the body sank deep and was not desecrated by marine predators.