George III, Convict transport shipwreck in D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Tasmania

George III was a 308-ton British convict transport launched in London in 1810. On 12 March 1835 it struck a submerged rock in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel and broke up in heavy swell; 133 people died, 128 of them convicts. The wreck lies in the channel between Bruny Island and the Tasmanian mainland.

George III sailed from Woolwich on 14 December 1834 with 220 male convicts, guards, their families and crew. A fire near the equator destroyed stores, and scurvy killed fourteen convicts before the ship reached Van Diemen's Land on 12 March 1835. That evening it struck a rock in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel and broke up; 133 died, 128 of them convicts. An inquiry blamed no one but led to better charts and the Cape Bruny Lighthouse.

The ship served as a vital transport vessel for convicts sent to Australia, and its loss had profound effects on early colonial history. The disaster shaped settler awareness of the dangers inherent in sea voyages of that era.

The wreck lies in the southern end of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, between Bruny Island and the Tasmanian mainland, near Southport. A tourist sign at Southport recounts the loss, and a memorial plaque stands at the Tasmanian Seafarers' Memorial at Triabunna, about 80 km north-east of Hobart. A monument at Southport Bluff, reached via the Ida Bay railway and a walking path of about three hours return, cannot currently be visited for conservation reasons.

The fire of 27 January 1835 broke out near the equator and was put out only with great difficulty; it destroyed part of the ship's stores, so everyone aboard went on reduced rations. The unbalanced diet brought on scurvy, and fourteen convicts died before the ship reached Van Diemen's Land on 12 March 1835. The inquiry into the wreck refused to ascribe blame to anyone.