134-year Mystery Solved
Sun Herald
Sunday May 31, 1998
ONE of NSW's most baffling shipwreck mysteries has been solved with the discovery of 134-year-old remains by a team of State Government archeologists.
Questions have surrounded the whereabouts of the cargo-carrying paddle-steamer Rainbow since it smashed into rocks at Sugarloaf Bay, near Seal Rocks, on the mid-north coast.
Seven crew members drowned when a fierce gale and huge waves dashed the 40m vessel to pieces in just 25 minutes on June 2, 1864.
Locals in the picturesque fishing village knew the wreck had occurred, but nobody had been able to pinpoint it.
After exhaustive research and underwater searches, maritime archeologists from the NSW Heritage Office found the wreck in 3m of water at the northern end of Seal Rocks Beach on May 11.
At the same time, the team was able to positively identify a rusting ship's boiler, which had been on the beach for 128 years, as belonging to another wreck.
© 1998 Sun Herald
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