'I couldn't be happier': Rare honour for forgotten tragedy

The Fiji's anchor which sits upright in concrete on Wreck Beach at Moonlight Head reminds visitors of the 1891 disaster but for 40 years, a memorial to those who lost their lives was hidden in overgrown scrub on the clifftop above.

But the memorial is now accessible via a new track off the Great Ocean Road walk.

In 2021, historian Alan McLean and Leanne Robe - whose grandfather rescued the captain - had called for a track to the memorial where seven sailors who perished were buried in coffins made from timber that washed ashore from the shipwreck.

"I couldn't be happier that other people can now get to see this significant monument," Mr McLean said.

He said the recognition on the heritage register was "rare". "It's now officially protected," Mr McLean said. "An important piece of maritime history now has its rightful place on the heritage register."

Parks Victoria senior manager of heritage services Paul Roser said it was delighted the Fiji monument would now be inscribed in the Victorian Heritage Register, recognising the dramatic story of the wreck and its aftermath's place in the state's maritime history.

"The inscription is testament to the hard work of Alan McLean and the Parks Victoria rangers, led by area chief ranger Andrew McKinnon, who cleared the site and restored access," he said.

It was while researching for his book - Mystery at Moonlight Head - that Mr McLean uncovered Mr McKinnon's strong ancestral connections to the shipwreck disaster.

"At that time the general store at Port Campbell was operated by the Lord family, and many of the surviving sailors were kitted out with new clothes and boots from that shop," he said.

He said Andrew's grandmother was part of the pioneering Lord family - after who Port Campbell's main street is named.

"So once Andrew heard of the monument and my proposal that all visitors should have access, he got things moving very swiftly, and his staff team have done the rest," Mr McLean said.

"It's his awareness of the significance of the monument that has proven the key to this result.

"Anyone capable of doing the Great Ocean Walk can easily do the little detour. It is also within the capability of anyone taking a day walk."

On the 100th anniversary of the disaster in 1991, there were calls for a track to the monument but it wasn't until Mr McLean's public calls 30 years later in 2021 there was any action.

The Fiji had set sail in 1891 from Hamburg in Germany bringing with it to Melbourne a cargo of alcohol, toys ready to go in stores for Christmas, several hundred pianos and dynamite.

But at 1.30am on September 6, the ship hit a reef just off Moonlight Head east of Princetown, about 200 metres from the shore.

A 17-year-old Julius Gebauer, on his second attempt, made it to shore and scaled the steep cliffs to get help.

Eleven sailors lost their lives during the disaster, as did Arthur Wilkinson, whose efforts to help the stricken crew members cost him his life.

The anchor of the Fiji sits upside down in concrete on the beach near where the vessel came to grief. On the clifftop above is the memorial - the stone donated by the people of Warrnambool who raised money to pay for it..

In 2022, Parks Victoria rangers and contractors restored access to the monument and removed undergrowth from around the site.

The monument is about a 1km walk from the Devil's Bend campground on the Great Ocean Walk and around a 7km round trip from the nearest car park at Wreck Beach.

The heritage register listing comprises the landscape, seascape and features associated with the wreck of Fiji in 1891 and its aftermath. This includes the wreck site, the beach, the upright anchor monument, the headstone and associated gravesite.

The Fiji monument is the latest of nearly 150 heritage register sites on Parks Victoria land.

In April 2024, tributes will be laid to the people who lost their lives and recognition given to rescuers.

"They did their best to wade out into the sea and grab the drowning sailors. They were not praised so much for their efforts as impugned for their efforts back 130-odd years ago," Mr McLean said.

"Those people came in for undue criticism at the time and it's important now with the name Rescuer's Track that they are recognised for what they did.

"Eleven sailors lost their lives but 14 sailors were dragged ashore and revived and taken to shelter.

"The rescuers' effort is just as important as the monument as a tribute to those who died."

Mr McLean said the story of the wreck - which sits in two to three metres of water offshore - would be in the spotlight during heritage week in April.