Careening Bay was named by Lieutenant Phillip Parker King when he careened his ship, HMC Mermaid during a voyage of discovery in 1820. After a series of leaks onboard the Mermaid, King set out for a shallow sandy bay which to careen and carry out repairs. For ten days the Mermaid crew worked hard before refloating the vessel. The ship’s carpenter carved the name of the vessel and the year into a conspicuous boab tree. The famous boab tree is now 3 metres wide and National Heritage listed.