The steel hull of a 1906 shipwreck remains embedded in a Phillip Island beach after 120 years

Launched in 1891 in Wales, the SS Speke was a three-masted steel-hulled sailing ship, which measured over 90 metres in length, with the towering main yards (the cross sections on the masts) stretching nearly 32 metres.

The Speke was designed for transporting bulk cargo, such as coal and grain, across global trade routes.

Its final voyage was in 1906, after loading a cargo of coal in Newcastle north of Sydney, the Speke - with a crew of 27 including its captain - set sail for Peru, only to receive new orders en route to divert to Geelong and take on a consignment of wheat.

In the early afternoon of February 22, as the ship was approaching Victoria’s coast, its captain made a grave navigational error.

Watch a video explaining the full story below.