Tap into local history with a Washhouse Brew

Here at Washhouse Brews, we love a beer, but we also love a good yarn to go with it. So, with every beer we want to shine a light on a bit of local Dunbogan history after speaking with local historians and finding the hidden gems.

Want a deeper dive into any of the tales that inspired Wash House Brews?

The Tidy Pale Story

The Steamer & The Mermaid

In calm seas on October 3, 1862, a 548-tonne iron paddle wheel steamer named the Prince of Wales grazed a bombora near Mermaid Reef south of Camden Head.

“…in passing inside Mermaid Reef, the vessel grazed on a detached rock N.W. of the reef”

The courier, Brisbane, Oct 1862

With the ship quickly taking on water, the Captain reluctantly brought the 216ft steamer into the unusually calm waters of Washhouse Beach - so named for the wash house built by sailors to take advantage of the pristine waters that flowed off Point Perpendicular.

“I endeavoured to reach Port Macquarie but the water gained considerably on us…Being then abreast of Camden Head I was obliged to beach her.”

courier, Brisbane, Oct 1862

Passengers and crew were safely taken off the boat and horses ridden to the nearest town to get help.

The Tidal Boon & The Beach Party

Upon returning with another paddle steamer in what were larger, more treacherous seas, the sailors found the Prince of Wales wrecked on the rocks. The ship's main cargo of spirits and ale lay strewn in barrels along Washhouse Beach. It was reported that the shipwrecked sailors and passengers started helping themselves to the liquor washing ashore.

“We regret to hear that the most dishonest advantages were taken of the goods thus washed ashore. In some instances we are told that the heads of the spirit casks were knocked in, and the liquor drunk in pint pannikins.”

The courier, Brisbane, Oct 1862

The Tragedy

A smaller boat was dispatched to help those on shore, but in negotiating the surf it capsized, killing the brave sailors on board. Two old crosses on a nearby hill at Camden Head are all that remain to remember them by. Gazing out over the pristine Wash House Beach of today, it's hard to imagine the unbelievable tale that unfolded all those years ago.