Just beyond the break at one of Australia's most iconic beaches,
lies a rich piece of Byron Bay's history hidden just below the shimmering surface.
When the water's clear you can see its murky shadow from the shore.
The underwater hidden gem beckoning swimmers to come and explore.
The Tassie III has rested on the sandy seafloor for more than 80
years. And there's now as much marine life as there is history in its hull.
From resident turtles nesting between planks, to a symphony of diamond fish dancing above the stern.
Even a few predators roam the bow.
Few know more about it than the President of Byron Bay's Historical Society Donald Maughan.
It's part of Byron Bay folklore. There was more
marine life in the old days (but) with the fishing, the sand mining,
the whole lot of impacts have changed the ecosystem of the marine life in Byron Bay.
However, it's only 150 metres offshore. It's very accessible, and very pretty to dive.
We didn't know the whole story until just recently and it's quite an interesting story.
The Tassie tale begins in 1937 in South Melbourne.
The Robertson brothers built the barge for the Launcestor Marine Authority for about 6700 pounds.
At 125 feet long, the Tassie III could carry 400 tonnes of cargo,
but it was never built for the sea.
When the marine engineer designed it, he specified that it was only to be used in the
river. It was not to go within 10 miles of the ocean. So it was supposed to be a river barge.
Then, in 1942, the Americans negotiated with the Australian and New Zealand governments to
acquire any small shipping that they could get their hands on.
The Tassie III was reflagged as the S77 and refitted to become a
coastal freighter for the Army between Sydney and Brisbane.
On the night it sank, the Tassie III was carrying 73 tonnes of armaments,
including bombs, smoke shells, and ammunition - all on its way to be decommissioned.
As they were coming down the coast, they got notification there was a severe storm approaching.
So they came into Byron Bay for safe anchorage.
And there was two jetties at Byron Bay at that stage. The old jetty - decommissioned - it was
built in the 1800s. And the new jetty, which was built after the sinking of the Wollongbar in 1926.
So when they were coming in, we don't know, but the captain may have came in sight of the old
jetty - which was in a state of massive disrepair - late in the evening and anchored near it,
or he may have anchored in front of the town so the boys could get off and party.
The anchor line broke during the storm and then the ship, the Tassie III, washed onto
the side of the jetty, and the hull was pierced by two of the pylons, and then the ship sank.
Miraculously, no lives were lost on the night the ship sank.
But weeks later, the wreck claimed the life of one local teenager and injured several others.
Five weeks after the sinking on the 10th of June, a couple of the boys, local boys,
got on there and took off apparently two of the smoke bombs. (They) took them up to their home,
had it in the home for a week before they decided to experiment as young boys will, 15 and 16.
And on a Sunday afternoon, they gathered 11 or their friends around them,
then decided to - let's pull this thing apart and see what happens.
And they were pulling it apart, taking out some of the gunpowder
and lighting it, and it was flaring, and they thought that was fun.
After they thought they had emptied the cartridge, one of them decided to - let's drop a match
into the shell. The shell didn't do anything at first so he reached
over it with a stick and poked it and that's when it went off.
That young boy, a 16 year old, unfortunately was killed almost immediately.
The other young fellow that was near him, surprisingly must have been sheltered from
the first boy, was minor injuries but the other children that were sitting,
luckily, a little bit further up on the hill in the backyard,
received shrapnel wounds (to their) shoulders, legs, things like that.
The children were all taken up to Lismore Base Hospital
and were in there for about a week and then brought back home.
As time went, the Tassie remained a steady presence in the coastal
town's history and on its sandy seafloor.
But as the decades sailed past, the ship's name
inexplicably drifted and it became known to locals as the Tassie II.
When we started to research the stories, particularly in relation
more to the accident with the children, that's when the paper reports, and the
Northern Star in Lismore and several other sources, all reported it as the Tassie III.
But I was always, and all my friends, we always referred to it as the Tassie II.
And when it started to be put out that no it's not the Tassie II, it's actually the Tassie III,
people go 'no, no, no, it's the Tassie II, it's been always the Tassie II.'
And you say 'well here's the documentation. It is actually the Tassie III.'
So people now accept that, and if you call it the Tassie II,
you will be corrected by the old timers.
There have been more than a dozen reported wrecks on the Northern Rivers,
including the iconic SS Wollongbar known as 'The Wreck' which sank nearby.
You don't see the Tassie wreck unless it's a very, very clear day, you can see it in the water.
The one that catches everyone's eyes is Wollongbar, which is just 200 metres further west.
While the Wollongbar is much larger,
it's position closer to shore makes it a less desirable home for sea critters.
Other wrecks in the region are harder to access, and none are quite like the Tassie III.