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About this photograph
The little rock makes a big splash, almost covering Isaac Rock, as a surfer comes in after a sunset session at Redgate Beach.
The small inshore rock at Redgate takes swell out of all proportion to its size. When a set hits it squarely the spray goes up high enough to blot out Isaac Rock behind it, which is what has happened here, with a surfer walking in underneath.
The picture is a straightforward demonstration of why this is a difficult coast. A rock that looks trivial at low tide is throwing water metres into the air, and the reef that does it is invisible from the beach. In 1876 the Georgette was put ashore into exactly this — an unlit, uncharted-in-detail surf coast with rock in the impact zone.
About Redgate Beach and Calgardup Bay
Redgate Beach sits on the Calgardup Bay shoreline south of Margaret River, on the section of coast now followed by the Cape to Cape Track. It is an ordinary-looking surf beach with an extraordinary thing underneath it: the wreck of the SS Georgette, which grounded here on the morning of 1 December 1876 after her pumps failed and rising water put out her boiler fires.
The wreck lies a few metres down, just offshore. On a rare day — low swell, clear water, low tide, the sand moved off her — the hull shows as a dark line from the beach or from the air. Most days it is invisible, and most people walking the sand have no idea it is there.
The full account of the wreck — the failed pumps, the lifeboat, Grace Bussell and Sam Isaacs, and the inquiry that followed — is set out in the story of the SS Georgette. The research behind it is described in the author's preface.
About the print
Printed to order on Hahnemühle Photo Rag, a 100% cotton archival paper, and supplied with an edition number. Free shipping within Australia.
