A beer company has had an eerie coincidence after a ship that sank in 1898 and was honoured with an ale named after it revealed itself to swimmers on the New South Wales south coast.

Key points: The Amy sank about 180 metres off the coast of Thirroul in 1898 with the loss of eight documented passengers and crew

The Amy sank about 180 metres off the coast of Thirroul in 1898 with the loss of eight documented passengers and crew Locals say the remains of the brig emerge from the sand every few years

Locals say the remains of the brig emerge from the sand every few years A monument to those who died on the Amy sits at the centre of a roundabout at the Thirroul beach car park

Coal Coast Brewing Company owner Kelly Carey was so captivated by the story of the brig Amy and her sinking off the Illawarra coast while travelling from Wollongong to Sydney more than 120 years ago that she named a pale ale after it.

She did not expect the ship to make a rare appearance to commemorate the occasion.

The Amy sank off the coast of Thirroul after being struck by gale-force winds, killing everyone on board, and now lies on the ocean floor in shallow water about 180 metres from shore.

"I have friends who'd surfed over it and they noticed it recently," Wollongong diver Lynne Tuck said.

"The lifeguards know about it. They say every three or four years the sand shifts and they go and snorkel on it.

"I'd heard it was exposed and I had a new camera that I was playing with and thought I'd take my gear out there and look because it's in four to five metres of water."

Illawarra beer company owner Kelly Carey (left) and diver Lynne Tuck have been captivated by the story of the Amy. ( ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale )

A woman and her child seen standing on the ship

While the official records state eight people died when the Amy sank, Ms Carey is especially interested in the two others not listed.

"At the inquest there were three eyewitness accounts of seeing a woman standing on the bow holding a child," she said.

"After all the investigations I've done, I can't find any record of them — except for a wife and child of the captain who were getting a ride with him up to Sydney, and then the ship went down.

"They're not on the manifest so they're not registered as part of the dead."

She named her beer Ode To Amy and put a woman on the logo as a nod to the story.

She has been naming her other beers after Illawarra history, and after walking the beaches of the northern Illawarra and occasionally collecting pieces of shipwreck that wash up on the shore she said she was hooked by maritime stories.

"I'm aware there's 90 ships missing from Gerringong to Sydney, so it's fascinating to do some research and get some history of the area doing so."

Christine Hill's painting showing the Amy on its side, being hit by rough seas off the coast of Thirroul. ( Supplied: Christine Hill )

'All of a sudden an anchor would appear'

Lynne Tuck said it was an 'eerie' experience swimming around the Amy by herself.

While the ship has broken up, she said a section of the mast is visible, as well as rusted chains and wooden planks.

A monument to lives lost on the Amy currently sits in the Thirroul beach car park. ( ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale )

"There's the crash of rocks moving and everywhere else is sand," she said.

"The sand would shift and all of a sudden an anchor would appear in front of you. I found it quite spooky."

There is a monument to those who died on the Amy at Thirroul beach, sitting prominently in the centre of a roundabout at the beach car park.

Ms Carey said she hoped through naming the beer in the ship's honour, and people seeing Lynne Tuck's images, they would discover a fascinating part of Illawarra history.

"Back then, we couldn't track and trace these ships. So it's humbling in our role to do justice to these stories, as well as having artists like Christine [Hill] painting it and Lynne who can see it," she said.

"It's an honour, and the story has come to us in an eerie way.

"We launched the beer and Lynne's found the ship. We're making sure we're doing our best to tell the story of that day."