Historical background, search, discovery and inspection of the iron barque Langstone (1869-1902), Naturaliste Reef, Western Australia

The 766-tonne, three-masted iron barque Langstone was built in Sunderland, England, in 1869 for the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line. Later owned in Fredrikstad, Norway, a port with a reputation as 'the city of wooden sailing ships’, it became the port’s first iron sailing ship. For more than three-decades the vessel carried cargo around the world before entering the Western Australian timber trade.

 

On 8 February 1902, laden with jarrah railway sleepers bound for London, Langstone struck Naturaliste Reef near Cape Naturaliste during a fierce south-westerly gale. Within twenty minutes of striking the reef the vessel had slipped into deep water. Although all crew made it safely into the lifeboats, one sailor lost his life before making it ashore.

 

The wreck was discovered on the 12th of November 2024, four kilometres north of Naturaliste Reef, during survey carried out as part of the Disney+ documentary series Shipwreck Hunters Australia. Lying upright in 45 metres of water, the site obers a glimpse into Western Australia’s historic hardwood export trade and the global reach of Norwegian shipping at the turn of the twentieth century.