Historic Shipwrecks maritime news
ANMM fieldtrip to confirm the location of the Cato shipwreck at Wreck Reef
In December 2009 the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANNMM) announced that a ship's cannon and rudder gudgeon had been found embedded in a reef off North Queensland. These artefacts are thought to belong to the Cato, which sank after running aground in 1803 on the way to India. Cato was protected under the Historic Shipwreck Act 1976 in 1990. Divers discovered the cannon in 1986 and reported their find to the Commonwealth Historic Shipwreck Delegate in Queensland.
The discovery of the gudgeon will assist in confirming the positive identification of the Cato site without disturbance to the main deposit.
The 450-tonne vessel Cato and HMS Porpoise were wrecked after hitting an uncharted coral reef at midnight on August 17, 1803. Three sailors drowned, while the survivors, including Mathew Flinders, made camp on Porpoise Cay.
Zuytdorp coins seized
In January 2010, following a report that stolen objects from a shipwreck were hidden in a backyard, the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts with the assistance of West Australian (WA) Police, recovered more than 1,400 silver coins. These coins are believed to have sunk with the Zuytdorp in 1712, north of Geraldton, off the WA Coast.
The Zuytdorp is one of four Dutch East India ships known to be shipwrecked along the WA coast. There were no known survivors from the Zuytdorp, which had a rich cargo that included about 250,000 guilders. The seized coins were handed to the WA Museum to be added to their maritime research collection.
The department is now investigating the circumstances that saw the coins removed from the shipwreck site.
AHS Centaur protected zone declared
With funding provided by the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments, the AHS Centaur was located by Bluewater Recoveries and Williamson and Associates on 20 December 2010. The shipwreck remains were subsequently confirmed through underwater photography. To protect the shipwreck and the associated maritime military and civilian graves a protected zone was declared around the wreck site under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. The protected zone was declared by the then Acting Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Penny Wong on 14 January 2010. On 11 January 2010 a memorial plaque was placed on the site for the 2/3 AHS Centaur Association. A memorial in Brisbane will be held at a date to be confirmed.
Related information
Shipwreck associations
- Australian National Maritime Museum
- Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology
- Devonport Maritime Museum
- Maritime Archaeology Association of Victoria
- Maritime Archaeological Association of Queensland
- Maritime Archaeological Association of WA
- Norfolk Island Museum
- Southern Ocean Exploration
- The Sydney Project
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