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The Birchy was one of the famed 60 miler colliers, making the run to transport coal between Newcastle and Sydney.
On 1 August 1956 the Birchy left Newcastle with a slight list to port, something that would prove fatal when the sea conditions turned from calm to rough when a southerly buster hit.
Today the Birchy lies in 50m of water of Whale Beach in the very north of Sydney.
