The Wreck Bay Walking Track in Northbridge is one of the easiest walks to take with children. If you want to immerse your kids in nature and away from technology for a few times in the week, then this is the trail to experience as often as possible.
The tracks stretch for two kilometres to end at either Dorset Road on the west or the Tunks Park in the east.
If you’re starting the Wreck Bay walk from the west, you can take Dorset Road via the tracks that begin at the south of the Northbridge Golf Course. This trail will lead you to the site of two shipwrecks at the Salt Pan Creek.
There are still substantial structures from what remains of the ships Itata and Cobaki to this day.
The Itata, an 1886 950-ton steel barge from Liverpool, England, was docked at a Sydney wharf and waiting for its cargo load when it caught fire in January 1906. Reports revealed that the ship had 300 tons of coal and saltpetre, which might have triggered the fire and explosion. The coals burned for a week after the fire.
The resulting accident twisted and destroyed the ship’s hulk, rendering the Itata useless. The shipwreck was abandoned and moved to the Salt Pan Creek.
A few decades later, the 257-ton Cobaki steamship built in 1918 was scuffled off to Wreck Bay as well after it was no longer of use to navigation companies. It was torched in 1946 and then left for vandals. It drifted adjacent to the Itata.
After the shipwrecks and past the Long Bay trail, you’ll also see the remains of what used to be a private vineyard that produced the finest wines in this region, as per the book Northbridge: Building a New Suburb by Pam Clifford.
The trail will end at the Northbridge Golf Course, but if you’re starting the path from here, look for the opening from Upper Cliff Avenue. There should be a track towards Tunks Park Memorial Trees. At the bottom of this path, you’ll see another track that passes at the back of the fifth green of the Northbridge Golf Course.
Be aware, however, that you’re not allowed to cross the golf course at any time during your walk on the Wreck Bay trails.