"Wrecked - Tragedy and the Southern Seas" exhibition at the SA Maritime Museum with Keith Conlon: In the Adelaide Coast region of South Australia

A hundred years ago Lipson Street in Port Adelaide was bustling. People were coming and going from shipping agents and banks. Horses and carts were queued up to take the cargo from the bond store. That's if the cargo arrived. A century ago, there was an almighty shipwreck off KI. Its story is in the Maritime Museum's latest exhibition, "Wrecked - Tragedy and the Southern Seas".

"Wrecked" tells some of the stories of the 850 ships wrecked on South Australia's coastline and each has its own story of high drama and heartbreaking tragedy.

These days we're all pretty removed from what it must have been like to board a ship and set out on a three month voyage to an unknown land on the other side of the world. But that's exactly what more than one and a half million people did between 1788 and 1900.

'Wrecked's' curator, Bill Seager says for most, it was their first time at sea. But despite their reservations it was actually quite safe with fewer than one in 500 shipwrecked.

"Most of them couldn't swim and the journey was pretty long, so there was a lot to fear," said Bill. "But for a lot of migrants, especially those coming from lower classes, the trip was actually a memorable one. If you survived it that was. Because the food was often better than anything that had been eaten at home especially after the 1850s."

While many died in the shipwrecks others, either through bad weather, bad luck or bad decisions had their lives changed forever.

The cliffs and submerged reefs around Carpenter Rocks on the aptly named Limestone Coast, south west of Mount Gambier have claimed many wrecks - but none more heart wrenching than the awful fate of the luxury steamer, the Admella.

In August 1859 she left Port Adelaide bound for Melbourne with 31 crew and 82 passengers.

"A lot of them were locals - Adelaide people from prominent families," explained Bill. "They were on their way to Melbourne, some of them to the races."

Off course in a pitch-black storm, they crashed onto the reef. For a week 70 people clung on - watching repeated rescue attempts come and go. It was one of Australia's worst maritime disasters and only 24 were saved. The infolding tragedy stopped Adelaide.

"There were crowds thronged outside the Telegraph Station in King William Street for a whole week." said Bill. "Parliament was adjourned, business stopped and a relief fund was set up…"

A salvaged dinner plate recovered from the Admella - complete with insignia, is a subtle reminder of an era when shipping was part of our daily life. One minute first class passengers were dining from fine bone china - the next they were fighting for their lives.

The exhibition features lots of everyday, personal items - reminders of the human aspect of the maritime disasters.

I wondered who the dress rings belonged to and was she rescued. Did a pocket watch stop at the precise time of the wreck?

What about that shipwreck off Kangaroo Island?

West Bay is typical of the beauty of Flinders Chase. The Loch Vennachar was a fast a famous cargo clipper. She weathered a cyclone and lots more during her life but yielded to the fury of the southern ocean off K.I. in 1905.

It took months to find the 26 crew had perished and a simple wooden cross, made from the wreckage marks the final resting-place for an unknown sailor.

The Loch Vennachar was one of sixteen ships lost by the Loch Line.

"There was a rumour afterwards that that line was cursed," said Bill. "It's another myth that comes from the shipwrecks."

There are plenty of stories of bravery and survival too. Fancy living off a lifeboat and raft ration tin for a week? Or how about climbing into a Breaches Buoy to be 'hoicked' to safety through the crashing waves?

Let's not forget the tales of how the locals became heroes.

"The fascinating thing about shipwrecks is that people are doing extraordinary things," said Bill. "No matter what's going on. Whether they're surviving, whether they're rescuing. Certainly the cult of heroism after a shipwreck event was immediate. And people deserved it, they were saving lives and risking their own to do amazing things."

And that's one of the things that helps make this an amazing exhibition. From the story of the how the Star of Greece gong down off Port Willunga in 1888 led to a wave of protest about government cutbacks…

And to the Maria, wrecked on the Coorong in 1840. Aboriginal assistance for the survivors turned inexplicably into a massacre and was followed by the summary hanging of two tribesmen because they "looked guilty".

Every one of the 850 shipwrecks along our coast has their own chapters of heroism, failure and survival.

The paintings on display in the exhibition can only begin to portray the agony of the end for the poor souls onboard the wrecked ships. But visit the Maritime Museum and you'll find yourself steeped in some powerful chapters of our South Australian story.

"Wrecked! Tragedy and the Southern Seas" is open at the Maritime Museum in Lipson Street Port Adelaide until October. It's open daily.

'Wrecked! Tragedy and the Southern Seas'
SA Maritime Museum
126 Lipson Street
Port Adelaide
Ph (08) 8207 6255
Open daily: 10am - 5pm