Qualla: Tryal Rocks

Tryal Rocks: Introduction

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit It was created by Hesperian. Any IP involved in the creation of this image is released into the public domain., Public domain. For 347 years, the Tryal Rocks did not officially exist -- at least not where anyone was looking for them. Described by early navigators as "the theme and dread of every voyager to the eastern islands," this reef 14 kilometres northwest of the Montebello Islands sank an English merchant ship in 1622, then slipped off the charts into legend, doubt, and outright denial. Captains searched for the rocks and failed. The British Admiralty declared them non-existent. Cartographers relocated them, misidentified them, and eventually gave up. It was not until 1969, when divers found the wreck of the Tryall itself scattered across the reef, that the mystery was finally laid to rest.

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Image: It was created by Hesperian. Any IP involved in the creation of this image is released into the public domain. | Public domain

Tryal Rocks: A Captain Far Off Course

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. The Tryall was only the second English ship to attempt the Brouwer Route, a Dutch-pioneered sailing path from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia -- modern-day Jakarta -- that exploited the powerful westerly winds of the Roaring Forties. The route, in use by Dutch vessels since 1616...

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Image: Public domain

Tryal Rocks: The Phantom Reef

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Hessel Gerritsz, also written "Hessel Gerritszoon"., Public domain. Brookes' evasiveness had consequences that lasted centuries. Because no reliable position existed for the wreck, the Tryal Rocks were plotted far to the west of their actual location -- an error of approximately ten degrees of longitude. The first known map to show them appeared ...

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Image: Hessel Gerritsz, also written "Hessel Gerritszoon". | Public domain

Tryal Rocks: Rediscovery by Degrees

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. The Admiralty's declaration did not settle the matter. Charts continued to show the rocks in various wrong locations, and sailors continued to wonder. In 1846, John Lort Stokes placed the Tryal Rocks between the Montebello Islands and Barrow Island -- closer to the truth, but sti...

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Tryal Rocks: Two Coral Reefs in the Indian Ocean

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit It was created by Hesperian. Any IP involved in the creation of this image is released into the public domain., Public domain. Today, Tryal Rocks consist of two coral reefs lying close together, roughly 1.25 nautical miles in length running northeast to southwest. The southern reef dries to 2.7 metres at low tide. They sit 105 kilometres off the Australian mainland, in waters where depths of less than 20...

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Image: It was created by Hesperian. Any IP involved in the creation of this image is released into the public domain. | Public domain