The wreck of the Dunbar ranks as one of Australia's worst maritime disasters, with the event still retained in the social history of Sydney and New South Wales.

[1] The Australian National Maritime Museum holds the John Gillies Collection of artefacts from the Dunbar wreck.

[2] The Dunbar was a timber three-masted, full-rigged ship built from British Oak and East India Teak.

On the night of 20 August 1857, the ship approached the entrance to Port Jackson from the south, but heavy rain and a strong gale made navigating difficult.

The remains of the bodies of twenty-two victims were recovered and interred in a single large tomb in Camperdown Cemetery in Newtown.

James Johnson was eventually employed in Newcastle as the lighthouse keeper and on 12 July 1866, was instrumental in rescuing the sole survivor of the paddle steamer SS Cawarra wrecked there in 1866.

There is a rock cut inscription on the flat (horizontal) sandstone cliff top above the actual wreck site location.

It comprises a large (approximately 4-metre (13 ft)) iron anchor of Admiralty pattern, attached to the natural sandstone rock cliff face above the southern end of The Gap.

The rock face has been worked to a vertical surface to accept the anchor which is fastened to it, with a remnant shackle attached.

[1] As of 15 July 2003, the shipwreck site has been greatly reduced due to the exposed nature of its setting at the foot of the South Head cliffs and its shallow depth (~7–8 metres of water).

[1] The Dunbar anchor has been in outdoor exhibition since 1930 and was the focus of an intensive materials conservation seminar in 1991, held by Woollahra Council with the NSW Heritage Office.

As at 27 October 2003, The Dunbar Group comprises: The Dunbar wreck site and its associated relics are a significant component of Australia's maritime heritage by virtue of the shipwreck's impact in 1857 on the developing colony of New South Wales, its influence on the improvement of navigational aids in Port Jackson (construction of Hornby Lighthouse) and its potential for interpretation through public education programs.

The event is still remembered today through annual ceremonies at St Stephens Anglican Church, Camperdown (Newtown) - site of the government mass burial plot, and individual gravestones.

The Dunbar anchor memorial at "The Gap" and the nearby rock inscription provide alternate public venues for community appreciation of the tragedy and impact on the inhabitants of Sydney.

The events that followed the wrecking, the search, recovery and burial of victims, had a considerable impact on the rapidly expanding colony, possessing in its population a large proportion of people who had travelled by sea and were able to relate to its hardships and fears.

The fine Ship built to high standards in Scotland by a notable shipbuilder, was destroyed in a matter of minutes by extreme storm conditions.

The tragic loss of 121 lives, many women and children, had a devastating effect on the community and ranks as the worst peacetime merchant maritime tragedy to befall NSW.

Crowds made their way to the South Head cliff tops above the wreck and witnessed its final destruction and the significant loss of life and cargo.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The vessel, wrecked at the foot of the sheer cliffs below the Signal Station at South Head, has a dramatic aspect and the place a melancholy atmosphere.

The physical cliff face became known as Dunbar Head due to the impact site and is formally recognised as such today as a significant coastal landmark.

The wreck event formed the focus of contemporary artists who captured the terrifying scene through notable artworks, several within the State Library of NSW collection.

Situated prominently at "The Gap", scene of chaos at the time of the tragedy, visitors are invited to learn of the Dunbar history through interpretative plaques.

Recovered from the wreck site in 1910 and established as a public memorial in 1930, the resulting anchor monument is unique in New South Wales for its scale and visual setting.

As an easily accessible monument to a significant shipping tragedy at the entrance to Sydney, the memorial and associated rock cutting, demonstrate the contemporary community's reaction to the impact of the Dunbar disaster to their world.

The monument continues to form a component of the city's cultural fabric, as a rare example of a public venue established to keep the memory of those lost, current.