Stanford Propeller

This propeller once drove the MV Stanford, a 5,000-tonne Norwegian freighter that met a dramatic end just off the coast of Geraldton.

On the stormy night of 24 June 1936, the Stanford was en route from Fremantle carrying cement and coking coal when it ran aground on African Reef, about 8 km offshore and 20 km from Geraldton Port. As wild weather closed in, Captain Bech sent out an SOS. The State Ship Koolinda responded, arriving around midnight, but high seas made a nighttime rescue impossible.

At dawn, 17 people (15 crew and 2 passengers) rowed through the rough swell to safety aboard the Koolinda. A second lifeboat retrieved the remaining 16 crew, along with the ship’s cat and her three kittens, all safely rescued!

Much of the ship’s material was salvaged, and during World War II, the abandoned hull was used for bombing practice. One of the Stanford’s crew, Stoker Alfred Clayton, later served aboard HMAS Sydney (II) and tragically lost his life when it was sunk off the WA coast in 1941.

This propeller was raised from the reef in 1998, thanks to the efforts of the Batavia Coast Maritime Heritage Association, with help from Racol Engineering and the McGowan family (Mac Boats). Today, it stands as a powerful reminder of the dangers of the sea and the stories it leaves behind.