Shipwreck · Lake Michigan · Fire
SS Australasia
A bulk Freighter built in 1884, lost on Lake Michigan in 1896. The record: “Burned to a total loss on Lake Michigan.” The wreck is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The vessel
On the record
- Type
- Bulk Freighter
- Builder
- James Davidson
- Launched
- September 17, 1884
- Completed
- 1884
- Length
- 285 ft (87 m)
- Beam
- 39 ft (12 m)
- Tonnage
- 1829.32 GRT; 1539.20 NRT
- Propulsion
- fore-and-aft compound engine
- Fate
- Burned to a total loss on Lake Michigan
- Wreck site
- Door County, Wisconsin
- National Register
- Listed July 3, 2013 · ref. 13000466
- Lake
- Lake Michigan
- Coordinates
- 44.9200° N, 87.1855° W
The same decade
Michigan losses of the 1890s
- Margaret A. Muir1893 · foundered
- SS Chicora1895 · foundered
- SS J. M. Allmendinger1895
- SS John V. Moran1899 · foundered
- SS L.R. Doty1898 · foundered
- SS W.H. Gilcher1892 · foundered
On the bottom nearby
Nearest Michigan wrecks
- SS Lakeland9.1 mi · lost 1924
- F. J. King14 mi
- SS Erie L. Hackley16 mi · lost 1903
- R. J. Hackett30 mi · lost 1905
- Rouse Simmons46 mi · lost 1912
- SS Vernon51 mi · lost 1887
Straight-line distance between published positions.
By boat
Closest launches
- Shauer Park Ramp1.7 mi
- Whitefish Bay Ramp1.8 mi
- Lily Bay Park Boat Ramp6.2 mi
- Frank E. Murphy County Park Boat Ramp9.7 mi
On the horizon
Nearest lights
On shore
Worth the stop
- Cave Point County Park0.2 mi · park
Source
Vessel facts on this page come from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article SS Australasia, retrieved 2026-10-11. We print the fields as recorded and add nothing; a missing field means the record is silent. Tonnage and dimensions were often measured more than one way in their day, so they can differ between sources.
Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.