The wreck of the Melanesia is an awful eyesore located in the tranquil Baie de Toro.

In an attempt to avoid this wreck we anchored in Baie Ma’a,  a neighboring bay, around the corner.

Baie Ma’a is a beautiful and peaceful bay situated just 11nm from the Noumea, heartbeat of New Caledonia.

A surprising discovery to see brown, dry brush on the hillside. Evidently, this bay is in the rain shadow of Grand Terre so it remains dry on the hillsides.

On the weekends, this becomes is a popular spot for the locals.  They like to go out fishing and return here to the peaceful anchorage.

 Here is a photo from the neighboring hillside.

Hop Over to a Shipwreck

There is a little dirt path from Baie Ma’a over to Baie de Toro where the wreck of Melanesia has landed.

The walk was super easy and relatively flat. 

After about 30 minutes we reached the Baie de Toro, hung a right, and walked along the coast line.  We saw the immense shipwreck as we rounded the peninsula.

Unfortunately, you can see this eye sore from every angle of Baie de Toro.

The Wreck of the Melanesia has been resting on this shore since Cyclone Anne hit New Caledonia in 1988.

The rotted exterior now blurs the inside from the outside.

This small coaster which launched in 1955 had a variety of names and home ports. 

Her name prior to Melanesia was Glenelg which you can still see on the side of the bow.

A Sad Ending for Melanesia

She has had a checkered past with several captains fleeing various countries trying to escape persecution.

In 1980 the ship’s captain escaped Australia in the cover of darkness bound for Vanuatu.  However,  the Vanuatu locals suspected the ship of arms smuggling and her seized again.

In 1981 her Captain escaped again only to run aground just north of New Caledonia.

It took a small team one year to refloat the ship. In December 1982 she was transported to Noumea.

Noumea acquired this ship in 1983 where it changed names to Melanesia.  This poor ship was beyond repair and just sat until 1987. 

At this point the port authority was so embarrassed by the stranded vessel that they moved it.  And then Cyclone Anne repositioned it to its current location on the beach.

Poor Melanesia had a very tumultuous life.

I found these photos taken in 1994 when Melanesia was a little more in tact.  Photos courtesy of ShipSpotting.com/photos

Find Baie Ma’a on No Foreign Land and find Epave du Melanesia on No Foreign Land.

Our blog posts run 4-5 weeks behind actual live events.

We visited the Wreck of Melanesia in the middle of August 2026.