Geltwood

The wreck of the Geltwood has long been part of the history of Millicent and the surrounding region, ever since the sailing ship met its watery grave south of Grey now called Southend in June 1876. The Geltwood had set sail from the United Kingdom bound for Melbourne, Victoria, but during its voyage the region was struck by what was described at the time as the "worst storm in history." No match for the ferocity of the weather, the ship was blown off course and driven onto a reef. All hands aboard were lost. In the aftermath of the storm, debris from the wreck washed ashore and was pillaged by locals, with items taken and buried in the surrounding sand dunes to be recovered later. For more than a century, the Geltwood itself was lost to the sea, until it was rediscovered in 1980 by local fisherman Lance Chambers and his deckhand, Peter Walters. Following the discovery, a group of local divers set out to recover artefacts from the wreck and raise the ship's anchor from its sandy grave, with the aim of preserving the vessel's history for future generations. The anchor would go on to become a centrepiece of the National Trust exhibition in Millicent. However, despite carefully cataloguing and surveying the site, the group was labelled as looters in The Advertiser. Through interviews with surviving members of the dive team and never-before-seen footage filmed in the 1980s, this documentary revisits the story of these local shipwreck hunters. It explores the history of the Geltwood, its loss and rediscovery, and the complex legacy of recovering artefacts from the sea in the name of preservation.

Geltwood is a 2026 documentary movie directed by Lyndal Redman. It runs 48m.