The Museum Act (1969) gives legal protection to vessels wrecked or stranded before 1900. The Marine Archaeology Department has divided the wrecks into two historical groupings, the presettlement wrecks (1622 to 1829) and the colonial wrecks (1829 to 1900).  This articles lists a number of the wrecks found, and describes the field work conducted on the sites to date

Green, Jeremy

Henderson, Graeme

Australian Archaeology

Flinders Academic Commons

Australian Archaeology    Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au  Full Citation Details: Green, Jeremy & Henderson, Graeme 1974. Marine Archaeology at the Western Australian Museum. 'Australian Archaeology', no.1, 15-17. MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM The Museum Act (1969) g ives  l e g a l  protect ion t o  vessels  wrecked o r  stranded before 1900. The Marine Archaeology Department has divided t h e  wrecks i n t o  two h i s t o r i c a l  groupings, the pre- se t t lement  wrecks (1622 t o  1829) and the  colonial  wrecks (1829 t o  1900). A. The pre-settlement wrecks. There a r e  f i v e  such wrecks known off  the  West Austral ian coas t .  The Trial (1622) i s  the o ldes t  known wreck i n  Austra l ian  waters. She w a s  an English East Indiaman, bound f o r  Batavia when l o s t  on the  T r i a l  Rocks, an i s o l a t e d  reef  nor th  of t h e  Monte Bello group of i s lands .  The Museum has c a r r i e d  ou t  a survey of t h i s  s i t e .  The BatavCa (1629) was the  f lagship of a f l e e t  of Dutch East  Indiamen s a i l i n g  t o  Batavia. She was l o s t  on the  Abrolhos group of i s l a n d s  i n  June, 1629. The s to ry  of t h e  mutiny and massacre subsequent t o  the  wreck make t h i s  one of the  most ghastly chapters i n  the h i s to ry  of t h e  Dutch t rading empire i n  the  East. The Museum car r i ed  o u t  over l a s t  summer a f i v e  month excavation of t h i s  wreck. This f i r s t  season of major excavation has shown the  s i t e  t o  be very r i c h  archaeological ly ,  and, s o  f a r ,  the  mos t  important wreck on t h e  coas t  of Western Austral ia.  Before excavation s t a r t e d  a photogrammetric survey was made of t h e  s i t e .  A l l  subsequent excavation plans were based on t h i s .  A t r i a l  excavation was commenced a t  the  s t e r n  of the  vesse l ,  pr imar i ly  t o  recover a group of building blocks but  a l s o  t o  determine whether any of the  ship ' s  timbers had survived i n  t h e  deeper l e v e l s  of the  s i t e .  A t o t a l  of 120 bu i ld ing  blocks were recovered, weighing about 27 tons. These appear t o  be p a r t  of the  facade of a building, possibly a por t ico .  Timber was located i n  one area and was uncovered. It soon became obvious t h a t  we were dealing with an extensive i n t a c t  s e c t i o n  of the  s h i p ' s  h u l l ,  a s  there  were thick frames and planking. The exposed timber was cleared of co ra l  and f l o a t i n g  weed debr i s ,  and each plank individually tagged. A photomosaic w a s  made of the timber a s  each piece was removed. Excavation was in te r rup ted  before a l l  the  timber was recovered, and i t  is  hoped t o  r a i s e  the remainder next season. The timber r a i sed ,  measuring 8 metres by 5 metres, was re-photographed on land,  and matched with t h e  1 : 10 photomosaics. The i n i t i a l  r e s u l t s  i n d i c a t e  t h a t  we w i l l  be ab le  t o  re-construct over 90% of the  timber s o  f a r  recovered. Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.auAmong the  many thousands of individual  a r t i f a c t s  recovered were ceramic material ,  coins, navigational instruments,  ordnance, shot,  sh ip ' s  f i t t i n g s  and cargo items. Detailed descriptions of the material cannot be given here ,  but  we already have one of the l a r g e s t  and most s i g n i f i c a n t  col lect ions  of material  from an e a r l y  seventeenth century wreck i n  the world. It became increasingly obvious when working i n  t h i s  f i e l d  t h a t  it is a matter of archaeology and h i s t o r y  working together. The archaeology o f  the  wreck s i t e  can provide information t h a t  is not normally ava i l ab le  t o  the  h i s t o r i a n .  The h i s t o r i c a l  and archival  background can br ing the archaeological work i n t o  a much c l e a r e r  perspective.  The VerguZde Draeck (1656) w a s  a yacht of the  Dutch East  India Company, l o s t  about 110 kilometres north of Perth.  I n  1972 the Museum completed a major excavation season on t h i s  s i t e .  A preliminary repor t  has  been published (J. Nautical Archaeology No.2) and an a r t i c l e  on the  ceramic material  i s  i n  publication. Four more major a r t i c l e s  a r e  planned, covering the organic mater ia l ,  t h e  h i s t o r i c a l  background, the metal a r t i f a c t s ,  t h e  armament, and the  sh ip  and its f i t t i n g s .  The Zuyt&rp (1712), l i e s  at the  base of a c l i f f ,  and is  both d i f f i c u l t  and dangerous t o  dive on. So f a r  only two br ief  recovery expeditions have been made t o  t h i s  s i t e .  The Zeemjck (1727), was l o s t  i n  the  Southern Group of the  Abrolhos Islands, and much of  the  wreck was salvaged by t h e  survivors. Because of the d i f f i c u l t i e s  involved i n  working the  s i t e  only reconnaissance expedit ions have been undertaken. B. The Colonial Wrecks. Numerically the pre-settlement wrecks make up l e s s  than one percent of the wrecks on the W.A. coast .  Over 1000 vesse l s  a r e  recorded a s  having been wrecked between 1829 and 1900, the  l i m i t  of the  l eg i s la t ion .  This circumstance d i c t a t e s  the nature  of the  work being done on the Colonial wrecks. Much of the  work has taken the  nature of an archaeological f i e l d  survey. A card catalogue lists the  d e t a i l s  of a l l  vesse l s  reported t o  have been wrecked off Western Austra l ia .  Only a s m a l l  proportion of these wrecks have been found. The l eg i s la t ion  requires a person f inding a wreck t o  repor t  i t  t o  the  Museum. Museum s t a f f  then inspect  the  wreck site t o  record its posi t ion,  take samples f o r  i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ,  and evaluate the s i t e ' s  potent ia l  f o r  f u t u r e  excavation. Where i t  is decided t h a t  a wreck i s  of h i s t o r i c a l  importance i t  is vested under the  Act t o  give i t  g r e a t e r  protect ion.  Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.auWhereas t h e  Dutch Wrecks Programme i s  in tens ive :  one major excavation pe r  year  wi th  research associa ted  with t h a t  excavation,  t h e  Colonia l  Wrecks Programme is ex tens ive ,  and s o  f a r  no wreck has been f u l l y  excavated. I n t e r e s t i n g  r e s u l t s  have been achieved during t h e  process of  i d e n t i f y i n g  s e v e r a l  of t h e  e a r l i e r  Colonial wrecks. The wreck a t  Cot tes loe  beach, long thought t o  have been evidence of pre-Dutch discovery of Aus t r a l i a  by the  Portuguese,  has  been i d e n t i f i e d  a s  a small Austral ian owned barque, t h e  E l i zabe th ,  wrecked i n  1839. The Austral ian Socie ty  f o r  H i s t o r i c a l  Archaeology is  a t  present  publishing a monograph on t h i s  wreck. The ana lys i s  of wreckage found a t  Carnac I s l and  has  a l s o  been productive. Previously thought t o  have been from a s e a l i n g  vesse l ,  these a r t i f a c t s  have now been shown t o  have come from the  s t randing of the H.M.S. Success i n  November, 1829, thus  being the  e a r l i e s t  Colonial wreckage y e t  found i n  Western Aust ra l ia .  Captain James S t i r l i n g  used t h e  Success f o r  h i s  survey of the Swan River i n  1827, which l e d  t o  t h e  se t t lement  being made i n  1829. An a r t i c l e  on t h e  i d e n t i f i c a t i o n  has recent ly  been submitted t o  t h e  Mariners Mimr. Excavation is  i n  progress  on t h e  wreck of the  Eglinton,  a B r i t i s h  barque wrecked i n  1852 with a general  cargo f o r  t h e  merchants of  Fremantle. Very l i t t l e  remains of the  sh ip  i t s e l f  bu t  a l a r g e  quan t i ty  of ceramic ma te r i a l ,  glassware and meta l  i tems from t h e  cargo have been a i r l i f t e d  from potholes  i n  t h e  l imestone r e e f .  Ext rac ts  from the  manifest show t h a t  a l a r g e  propor t ion  of the  merchants of the  colony had consignments on board, s o  t h e  ma te r i a l  gives a cross  s e c t i o n  of some of t h e  s o r t s  of goods used i n  the  in fan t  colony. Another wreck r ecen t ly  found is  the  James Matheus, a b r i g  wrecked i n  1841 wi th  a cargo d s l a t e s  and general  suppl ies .  The s i t e  w a s  found by members of the Underwater Explorers Club, who had been searching f o r  the  wreck f o r  a number of years .  A t  p resent  a survey of the s i te  i s  being ca r r i ed  o u t  by members of t h e  c lub  under the  supervision of Marine Archaeology s t a f f .  Following t h i s  a metal  de tec tor  survey w i l l  be c a r r i e d  o u t  and c lub  members w i l l  a s s i s t  i n  a l imi ted  excavation of t h e  site. The Colonia l  Wreck Programme r e l i e s  upon t h e  cooperation of t h e  d iv ing  pub l i c  of Western Aust ra l ia .  With s o  many s i t e s  s c a t t e r e d  over such a long c o a s t l i n e  Museum s t a f f  look t o  d i v e r s  t o  r e p o r t  s i t e s  and t o  show Museum divers  how t o  ge t  there .  Severa l  groups of d i v e r s  a r e  a t  present  being t ra ined i n  survey techniques i n  a programme aimed a t  a c t i v e  involvement. Jeremy Green Graeme Henderson Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au

Marine Archaeology at the Western Australian Museum

http://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2328/60/1974001015017_final.pdf?sequence=3

Marine Archaeology at the Western Australian Museum

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Flinders Academic Commons