Big changes are happening at the Museum on Tower Hill! This year we are renovating the E. Roy Smith Gallery, which means we will be putting a lot of what was on display back into our collections room, and will be bringing ‘new’ artifacts to fill the space. One artifact we will be sad to put back into the collections room is this wheel fragment believed to be from the ill-fated Waubuno that disappeared on 22 November 1879.

The Waubuno is one of Georgian Bay’s most mysterious shipwrecks. Built in Port Robinson in 1865, the Waubuno was a side-wheeler steamer that carried freight and passengers to various ports along the Georgian Bay. On 21 November 1879, the Waubuno was docked in Collingwood Harbour waiting out an early winter storm. During a break in the weather, the Waubuno departed to Parry Sound with 24 passengers and crew under the command of Captain Burkett. Unfortunately, the Waubuno never arrived at her destination. It is speculated that she got caught in the storm and capsized, but as no bodies were ever recovered, the events that transpired that night remain a mystery. Today, it is popular belief that the hull of the Waubuno lies north of Wreck Island with the remainder of the ship in open water southwest of the Haystack Rocks.