AustLit

'Fabulous treasure lost for 300 years; mutineers chained to the ship's deck; a rescue on horseback; bodies vanished in a blowhole. These extraordinary stories of danger and heroism at sea chart the extremes of human experience. For primary and secondary school students. Covered in adhesive plastic. Shipwreck stories and miraculous rescues After long months of sailing across the oceans, navigating by sun and stars, there on the horizon is the new land. But wild seas, jagged rocks and coral reefs snared many a ship before it could reach safety. How many people drowned when the Cataraqui smashed into rocks off King Island? Find out how the 'graveyard' and treasure of the Batavia was uncovered after 300 years; how Captain Bligh and his castaways suffered in an open boat after the mutiny on the Bounty; how two people survived the wreck of the Loch Ard when everyone else perished. Did Eliza Fraser owe her life to the Aborigines? How do you explain the ancient wreck before the arrival of Captain Cook? Unbelievable but true, these extraordinary stories of disaster and rescue at sea chart the extremes of human experience - from brutality and madness to heroic courage and endurance.' (Publication summary)