Retired naval architect Allan Asquith got in touch with some information in memory of the tragic event, while the NSW Heritage Office also records the hsitoric event in detail.

On April 5, 1908, the passenger cargo ship SS Bega capsized and sank off Tathra. The steamship was on its way to Sydney with passengers and a full load of cargo comprising butter, cheeses, timber, prized cattle and horses for the Royal Agricultural Society Easter Show, 176 pigs, furnitre, wool and a special consignment of 2000 pounds in gold coinage destined for the Commonwealth Bank Sydney branch.

The ship was under the command of Captain Bishop, who noticed a list not long after departing Tathra Wharf.

It’s reported his concern grew when it was suspected the cargo had shifted, while Mr Asquith suggested it could potentially have been a blow from an underwater object, perhaps a whale, that led to the ship taking on sea water.

“This bump must have occurred in what naval architects call the ‘panting area’ at the forward shoulder. Such a severe bump could loosen rivets in that area and lead to the ship taking in sea water,” Mr Asquith said.

Regardless of the cause – which was unable to be determined at a later Court of Marine Enquiry – the ship began listing significantly, despite the transfer of many of the pigs to the high side in an attempt to stabilise the lean.

As the ship continued to take on water, the captain ordered all the pigs to be sacrificed overboard, but it was to no avail as SS Bega continued to sink

Two lifeboats, two small rafts and distress flares were deployed

Passengers and crew were all saved except for one male passenger who died of a heart attack during the chaotic evacuation. The lifeboats and rafts landed at Cuttagee and Wallagoot.

The site of the shipwreck was rediscovered by divers in 2004 and the SS Bega remains a protected historic shipwreck with a gazetted protection zone surrounding it.