Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Wrecks & Reef Exhibition


“Wrecks and Reefs” is an exhibition on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum until 3rd March 2013. According to the web page found at http://www.anmm.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=2086, “Through the underwater lens of maritime archaeology, explore four Australian shipwreck sites on remote coral reefs off tropical Queensland - the early colonial ships Mermaid, Porpoise, Royal Charlotte and Cato. Vivid images by expedition photographer Xanthe Rivett follow the team led by the Australian National Maritime Museum and reveal the unique marine environments they encountered. Join the expedition team on this underwater story of archaeological discovery and admire the natural beauty of the coral reefs and cays, the backdrop of these ship wrecks.”

Underwater Treasures

The ABC’s Brett Williamson recently published a series of online video reports called “Underwater Treasures”. The series was done in conjunction with Department of Water, Environment and Natural Resources maritime heritage officer Amer Khan. It covered a range of SA dive sites, including Edithburgh, Rapid Bay, Second Valley and the Dredge, the Barge, Hobart, Claris and Clan Ranald wrecks. These can be viewed at:







SA Maritime Museum Facebook page

The SA Maritime Museum has opened a new Facebook page which can be found at http://www.facebook.com/SAMaritimeMuseum.

Monday, January 14, 2013

"Claris" wreck is believed to be two boats

According to the web page found at http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2013/01/08/3665949.htm?&section=news&source=igoogle, the South Australian wreck  commonly known as the Claris is believed to be two boats. Department of Water, Environment and Natural Resources maritime heritage officer Amer Khan said, "It appears to be more than one vessel. There is a 12m steel vessel there, which might be a fishing vessel of some kind, but there is also a large structure that appears to possibly be part of a larger vessel." There is very little known about the items or whether the name for the site refers to the smaller boat or larger wreck. Amer said it was believed that the boats were sunk in the area to provide a refuge for local fish to create a place where snapper would feed.” Could the second vessel be the Kalari? According to http://stevesscubasite.blogspot.com.au/2009/11/new-wreck-trail.html , A trail has now been laid between the Claris and Kalari wrecks off of Glenelg. According to the web page at http://www.sdfsa.net/adelaide_metro.htm , the Claris is a 12m-long (ship?) wreck about 4km west of the Dredge (South Australian). She lies at a depth of about 25-28m. Her GPS coordinates are said to be 35:00:250 S, 138:21:089 E (WGS84). The GPS coordinates of the nearby Kalari are said to be 35 00 273 S, 138 21 110 E.”