A Portuguese caravel, which some believe became Warrnambool's legendary Mahogany Ship.
DON'T be surprised if tourists start searching in the sand dunes west of Warrnambool for the mysterious Mahogany Ship, says Greg Barton.The Australian Traveller magazine editor said he was not aware of the legend until "Search for the Mahogany ship in Warrnambool" was included on the magazine's 100 things you can only do in Australia list."I had never heard about it," Mr Barton confessed. "One of our longest-serving journalists suggested it and it struck a chord with me."I wanted to know what it was all about."The Mahogany Ship mystery began in 1836 when a whaleboat capsized at the Hopkins River Mouth and two survivors walked along the coast to Port Fairy.The pair reportedly saw a wreckage of a ship made of mysterious dark timber in sand dunes.More sightings came later, the last being in the 1880s.In 1992 a $250,000 reward was offered to anyone who found the wreck, but those who tried did not succeed.The search for the ship is one of only nine Victorian entries on the magazine's list. Another was the Great Ocean Road, selected for being the largest and only driveable war memorial in the world. Mr Barton said the list, put together by readers, journalists and those in the tourism industry, was to show how interesting Australia was."These are 100 amazing experiences and things that exist nowhere else in the world," Mr Barton said. About 800 nominations were received for the third list.He expected travellers to seek out the places and objects on the list, including the legendary wreck."People are fascinated in things like that which are mysterious or lost, so you never know what will happen," he laughed.