Collections manager Angela George said that as an island nation, shipping - and by extension, shipwrecks - were central to Australia's rich maritime heritage.

Wrecked! Shipwrecks of the Sapphire Coast reveals the history of the incredible number of wrecks, more than 11,000, that have found their final resting place on our coastline since the 17th century, less than a quarter of which have been found.

With its heavy seas, wild winds and strong currents, the south-eastern seaboard has long been a concern for shipping and shipwrecks are an unfortunate part of the story of the Sapphire Coast.

"Although Twofold Bay has often provided a safe haven for vessels plying the coastline, many have still come to grief," Angela said.

"I am very excited to be displaying the exhibition and am quite fascinated with shipwrecks, lots along the coast here still unidentified.

"My grandfather was involved in salvage crews for the Empire Gladstone and when he got off the ship at the wharf in Merimbula, got down on hands and knees and kissed the ground and said 'I'll never leave you again'.

"Shipwrecks are an important part of the European narrative of this area, the first recorded Europeans to set foot here were on the Sydney Cove and shipwrecked on Preservation Island in Bass Strait."

Wrecked! takes a look at some of the region's famous and not so famous wrecks - from the George in 1806 to the Henry Bolte and Tasman Hauler in 1988. There's even a mysterious submarine at the bottom of Disaster Bay... or is there?

Angela said she was really curious about the wreck at Nelson's Beach which was recently uncovered again.

"We know when it was first discovered in 1860, but nobody knows what happened to the crew," she said.

"The Cumberland wreck occurred during WW1 off Gabo Island when it hit a sea mine, it was the first victim of enemy activity in Australian waters, which is quite significant.

"It was actually re-floated and got part way back across Disaster Bay before going to its watery grave at the bottom."

Objects retrieved from shipwrecks feature in the exhibition, including relics from the Lyee Moon and material off the Riverina which came to grief between Mallacoota and Gabo Island, as well as from the Empire Gladstone which ran aground off Haystack Rock between Merimbula and Pambula.

Visit the Eden Killer Whale Museum website for opening hours and further information.

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