December is Maritime Heritage Month and the National Register of Historic Places is bringing awareness to important historic sites with a maritime theme. In keeping with the theme, the Wisconsin State Historical Society recently added a Door County shipwreck to its Register of Historic Places. The “Australasia” burned and sank in Lake Michigan in about 20 feet of water off Whitefish Dunes State Park in October of 1896. No lives were lost. About 7 years ago, maritime archaeologists found what was left of the wooden steamer and mapped its location. It was added to the State Register of Historic Places in November.
