The Wreck of the Firefly

 

The ship’s wheel from the Firefly is on display at the City of Adelaide clipper ship in Port Adelaide: -

The Firefly was grounded adjacent to the Sir Charles Hardy Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria 1861 under the command of Captain T. Kirby. According to this sign accompanying the ship’s wheel display, the wheel was donated by Mark Caudwell: -

The sign says that the Firefly was built in 1843 and that it was registered in Melbourne in July 1859. It also says that the ship was ‘lost with cargo’ “on 6^th September 1861 …. off Sir Charles Hardy Islands-Albert”.

The ‘Albert’ bit refers to the fact that the vessel was towed up the Albert River on Sir Charles Hardy Island.

The Firefly was being chartered by the Victorian government, and it was bound for Brisbane whilst searching for the explorers Burke, Wills, and King when it became wrecked. The ship struck sunken rocks and had to be towed by the Victoria to Sweer's Island; it was later abandoned due to its damaged state. The ship’s Registry was closed on 13^th March 1862.

According to https://environment.gov.au/shipwreck/public/wreck/wreck.do?key=2506 , “The 'Firefly' was bound from Brisbane to the Gulf of Carpentaria on the 24th of August 1861, in company with the colonial sloop Victoria….. On board the 'Firefly' was William Landsborough and his search party.

“The Victoria and the Firefly were separated in a gale on the 1st of September 1861. On the 3rd of September the Firefly struck sunken rocks north of the Sir Charles Hardy Islands. The 'Victoria' found the 'Firefly' on the east side of a reef, north of Sir Charles Hardy Island, on the 5th of September. The 'Victoria' towed the 'Firefly' off the reef ….. to Sweer's Island, thirty miles from Albert River in the Gulf of Carpentaria, arriving on the 29th of September 1861.

“Landsborough later instructed that the 'Firefly' should be towed up Albert River, to the junction of Norman River. At the hulk of the 'Firefly' a depot for rescue parties was established by Landsborough.

“It is assumed that the 'Firefly' was eventually abandoned considering its damaged state. The Registry was closed on the 13th of March 1862 with the statement: "Lost in the Gulf of Carpentaria some time prior to January 1862"

Details about the Firefly are then given as: - Type of vessel: Sailing vessel, Sailing rig type: Brig, Gross tonnage (imperial tons):200.0.”

The Sir Charles Hardy Islands are said to be “a small group of islands located about 40 kilometres east of Cape Grenville, off the coast of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. (They) …. are situated within a reef system of the same name, adjacent to Pollard Channel and Blackwood Channel. They are approximately 60 miles southwest of Pandora Entrance, a passage through the Great Barrier Reef.”

According to https://www.burke.qld.gov.au/Our-Region/History/The-Firefly-Boat-Site , “The 250-ton brig Firefly captained by T. Kirby was chartered to carry Landsborough, his party and their supplies to last for six months in the search for Burke and Wills, before proceeding on to Surabaya. It was considered that Burke would have attempted to make a straight course from Eyres Creek to the Albert (River?), and so the Albert was selected as the starting point. She sailed from Melbourne on 29th July 1861. It was to be an eventful journey.

“After loading 30 horses and forage, on the 24th August 1861 they left Brisbane to sail for the Gulf in company with the H.M.C.S. Victoria captained by Commander W. H. Norman.

“A hurricane struck near Reine Island, and '...it was evident we were in great danger, but my officer and crew did their duty well and showed no fear; the explorers were however, completely upset, and bewailed their fate to such an extent that I really pitied them and endeavoured to keep up their .spirits as far as possible as I feared their terrors might affect the crew... ' was the Captains view of the situation.

“Somewhat later the Firefly grounded adjacent to Sir Charles Hardy's Islands: '...Riot and drunkenness became the order of the day ... Sailors drank, Law and order set at defiance'...' says Landsborough's journal, '...Decks were covered with cases of spirits, wine, beer ... and the crew on the island very much the worse... for liquor ...' reported Captain Norman referring to the Firefly’s crew; '...the sailors of the Victoria ... broke into the hold of the Firefly and were drunk for days and ... plundered the ships stores...' responded Captain Kirby. It would never be resolved which crew was responsible for these actions.

“The upshot of all of this was the ultimate salvage of the Firefly; all but one of the horses had been saved by the expedient of cutting a hole in the vessel's side and then leading and swimming them out The hulk was taken in tow by the Victoria after whatever repairs were possible, with the horses reinstalled. On Sunday 27th September both ships anchored in Investigator Road, adjacent to Sweers Island, where they found the Gratia and Native Lass, under charter to the Victorian Government, with stores and coal to bunker the Victoria. A camp was established on the island as a land base.

“Lieutenant Woods and Landsborough went to find a channel into the Albert suitable for landing the horses and supplies. This they did and all hands then faced the problem of manoeuvring the Firefly upstream to it. After three weeks they managed to coax the Firefly to the spot. Later she was moved to a channel close to the west bank where she could be pumped out and kept upright to serve as accommodation for some of the party.

“The Firefly became the first ship to have entered the Albert River. When the expeditioners finally left, the Firefly was left to slowly rot and disappear under the murky waters of the Albert River.”

Cutters Wrecked at Glenelg

Two ships are listed in “South Australian Shipwrecks – A data base 1802-1989” by Peter Christopher as having been wrecked at Glenelg on 11^th April 1948. That was the day that a ‘hurricane gale’ storm destroyed the Glenelg jetty aquarium.

The two wrecks concerned are the Renown and the Zephyr. Both are described as being cutters.

According to a Copilot Search, “A cutter ship is a versatile vessel, historically a fast single-masted sailing ship with multiple headsails …. Traditionally, a cutter is a small, speedy sailing vessel with a single mast rigged fore-and-aft, carrying a mainsail and at least two headsails. Its hull is typically deep and narrow, with a raking transom stern, vertical stem, and long bowsprit, designed for speed, agility, and windward performance.”

I don’t know what became of these two shipwrecks, especially location-wise. Going through an old newspaper page, I found this photo of what is said to have been a cutter wrecked at Glenelg during the 1948 storm: -

 

Unfortunately, I cannot make out the name or number on the side of the hull to be able to identify the vessel. The name appears to be short, followed by a number ‘3’.

The Register for Wednesday 17th October 1923 , reported the loss of the cutter Irene on Glenelg beach, near the Glenelg Baths: -

“Lying half-buried in the sand and seaweed near the Glenelg Baths, its stern damaged, counter stern chafed through, and timbers bent and broken, the cutter Irene presents a pitiful spectacle to the man with a liking for the sea and the ships that sail thereon. Last Wednesday's storm found a weakness in the moorings, and this sturdy, little craft, which during its long career as a fishing cutter has weathered hundreds of gales, was dashed against a caisson on the shore front, and in a few hours became a wreck. Thus, another victim was added to the long list of fishing cutters and yachts which have ended their careers on the Glenelg sands. Many yachtsmen at Glenelg have seen their boats smashed to pieces, one owner having lost four boats;”

The Irene is not, however, listed in “South Australian Shipwrecks – A data base 1802-1989”. The Cape Jaffa, listed as a fishing cutter, was wrecked somewhere between Kingston and Port Adelaide in 1973. No other cutters, other than the Renown and the Zephyr, are listed after 1900.

Shipwreck Artefacts in Horseshoe Bay

In 2022, I came across a shipwreck paper with the long title “A New Approach to Investigating Shipwreck Sites in Littoral Environments: Multi-Technique Geophysical Investigations of Port Elliot, South Australia” by Ian Moffat and Jason Raupp.

I sent details of the paper off to Port Elliot local, Alex Wyschnja. Alex’s response was, “Steve – thanks for the article, excellent find and very interesting information.    I find it amazing that such a technique can identify a 1 kg anomaly on the beach at that depth.   In a past life I was a Sirotem (electromagnetic) geophysical surveyor so I have some knowledge of what it all means, and our eldest son is a gravity survey expert as well as an operative at the Port Elliot SLSC.

“I have spent a fair bit of time trolling the beach with my Equinox 800 metal detector and probably have gone over this target, but it may be too deep for the Nox to pick up.  I do see plenty of brass and copper fragments off the wrecks, they are widely dispersed on the beach.

“I don’t know why Jason doesn’t keep in touch as I can advise interested parties when conditions are good to view and survey the wrecks out there.  I used to discuss the wrecks regularly with Terry Arnott when he was alive.   With Colin now gone I’m sort of the defacto “curator” of wrecks in Horseshoe Bay as I live 5 minutes from the bay and swim out there regularly.  My wife Margy swims there every day.  While not spectacular, the artefacts on the bottom of the bay are still interesting nonetheless.”

It appears that I was supposed to write about this topic back in 2022. I can now see that Alex sent me a copy of a paper titled “Realising the Cultural Tourism Potential of South Australian Shipwrecks” by Bill Jeffery at the time.

The Society for Underwater Historical Research published a report titled “The Shipwrecks of Port Elliot 1856-1864” by John Perkins in 2007.

In 2022, I had these details on my PC, but I cannot work out where these comments came from at all. They seem to be regarding this signage on the Port Elliot Maritime Heritage Trail: -

 

These comments probably could be from Alex: -

“Photos are of the Flying Fish, which is probably the most known wreck there, and then the pintle shots are the Harry, a pin or bolt on which a rudder or other part turns.

“And last 4 are of the Lapwing/Josephine L’Oizeau - I get confused as to which ones they are as there is wreckage that overlaps. I know of 3 anchors out there and there are large link anchor chains running in from the sisters (rocks about 300m out in the bay) which were once mooring chains for the ships.   My mate has swum along one of them a fair way underwater, but we need to get back there sometime and have a good look at them and get pics, even though they are heavily encrusted. The biggest issue here is poor vis, especially this year as the Murray has been flowing. I installed the swimmers’ pontoon moorings out from the jetty and do regular inspections of the facility on behalf of Port Elliot Surf Lifesaving club, which I'm a member of.  It can get spectacularly clear out in the bay when conditions are right, there are many small reefs and whalebones as well. I've dived all around Commodore Point, but there's no evidence of wrecks there. To (be able to) see anything needs the sand to shift, and that usually happens around May when the first winter swells gouge the bottom. The Josephine/Lapwing has good artefacts to see - copper bolts, lead pipes, anchors, bricks, pottery pieces, sail rings, and I spotted a deck prism one day but haven’t seen it for years. The Lapwing rudder is a very rare pic, possibly the only one in existence as I've only seen it once when the sand shifted in 25 years of diving the bay. It must have hit very hard as the pintles are snapped off. One of the surf club stalwarts, Colin Sibley, who was a local historian, wrote a book titled "On the Wings of the Flying Fish" describing the sinking of the Flying Fish and rescues, etc. She lies in waist deep water down near Commodore Point and is a real hazard to swimmers as, when exposed, the ribs stick up ready to impale the unwary feet. Colin showed me the wrecks many years ago but sadly he is no longer with us to help with further wreck information.”

Alex has previously sent me lots of photos of diving the wrecks in Horseshoe Bay: -

This is the cover of the Port Elliot Maritime Heritage Trail pamphlet showing the rudder and pintle from the Harry and the Flying Fish off Sydney heads in 1846: -

I wrote about the anchors on display at Port Elliot at https://stevereynolds.wixsite.com/website/post/the-anchors-on-display-at-port-elliot . I wrote about the Horseshoe Bay shipwreck trail at https://stevesshipwrecksite.blogspot.com/2009/08/horseshoe-bay-shipwreck-trail.html.

The York Wreck

The 1920s wreck of the 89.63 gross-ton iron-hulled lighter York at Port Pirie doesn’t seem to be listed in any of my shipwreck books at all.

This Heritage SA information sheet about the wreck can be found at https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/york.pdf

 

(Source: https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/york.pdf )

According to Bing, “The York wreck is a significant historical site located off the southern shore of Weeroona Island, approximately 240 kilometres northwest of Adelaide. It was once a lighter used at Albany in the late 1870s and later became a mallee stumper carrier. The wreck is best viewed at low tide, when it is exposed on the beach.

“Weeroona Island, connected to the mainland by a causeway, features sandy beaches, coastal shacks, and a rich history, including its use as a munitions dump during World War II. The island’s connection to the mainland is maintained by a 300 m-long causeway spanning mangroves and tidal flats.”

These details were sourced from Weekend Notes. According to Weekend Notes, “The little of her that remains can be seen on the beach at low tide.

“Built in Scotland, the York measured 23 metres in length, 5 metres in breadth and 2 metres in depth. She somehow made her way to Western Australia and was used as a lighter at Albany in the late 1870s under the ownership of P&O Company. In 1877, she was purchased by Adelaide Steam Boat Company for lightering work at Port Adelaide. She had a long life with them until 1925 when she was sold to William Pillberg to carry mallee stumps from Whyalla to Port Pirie. However, being too large, she was eventually beached at Weeroona Island.”

This Facebook photo of the York was taken by Matthew Diggens on 13-04-2006: -

 

(Source: Facebook)

According to comments made by John Biggs on the Facebook post, “The lighter York was built c.1862 in Scotland for the P&O Company’s King George’s Sound coaling station at Albany, WA. The iron hulled vessel, measuring 75.5 feet (23.0 m) length, 18.2 feet (5.5m) breadth, 7.0 feet (2.1 m) depth and 89.63 gross tons, was shipped to Australia in pieces, probably by one of the sailing vessels supplying the coal depot. In 1877, when ships no longer needed to refuel in WA and P&O’s operations were being scaled down, the lighter was sold to the Adelaide Steam Tug Company on the condition that P&O was given preference for its use when one of their mail vessels was off Glenelg. For its delivery to South Australia the vessel was jury-rigged as a cutter, but in September was declared unseaworthy by the WA marine authorities and prohibited from departing. The events of the next few months are uncertain, but it is known that the vessel eventually departed Albany on 13 November 1877 under unusual circumstances:

The York, which broke through the rules of the Port on Thursday by running in without being boarded, accounts for the circumstance by the want of ground tackle. She reports leaving King George’s Sound on the 13^th, and for a couple of days had light winds. (Register, 30 November 1877)

Although no documentation has been found to support the theory, the absence of ‘ground tackle’ suggests that the captain had decided to ‘cut and run’ – leaving King George’s Sound illegally by cutting the vessel’s anchors and setting sail without authorisation. By 15 December 1877 the York was engaged in lightering work for the Adelaide Steam Tug Company. In 1920, after many years lightering in Port Adelaide and Glenelg, the barge was transferred to Port Pirie to act as a coal lighter to the tugs.

In 1922 the York was sold to Captain William Pillberg and was largely employed carrying  mallee stumps from the Whyalla area to Port Pirie. It proved too large for that purpose and was beached at nearby Weeroona Island. For some time, the abandoned vessel was used as a wharf or loading platform for barges carting stone from the island to Port Pirie.

The York’s registry was closed on 20 January 1925 with advice received from the owner that it was to be broken up.”

 

(Source: https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/york.pdf )

Matthew Diggens has allowed me to share his photos of the wreck from Facebook here: -

Many thanks Matthew.

The ‘Wreck’ of the Tam O’Shanter

The 360-ton barque Tam O’Shanter was built in North Hylton, County Durham, England in 1829. In 1836, Osmond Gilles chartered it for the migrant fleet of ships carrying the first settlers to South Australia. It was involved in transporting emigrants and provisions and is credited with being one of the first ships to reach South Australia.

There is an 1836 drawing of the Tam O’Shanter, thought to be done by J.M. Skipper, in “The South Australian Colonizing Ships of 1836” by L.J. Ewens (1962).

It ran aground in 1836 and was later wrecked in 1837 when it ran aground again off Tasmania. According to Wikipedia, it “ran aground in 1837, off Tasmania and was considered a write-off.”

Of the voyage to South Australia, Wikipedia says, “In 1836, Tam O'Shanter, (Captain) Whiteman Freeman, master, accompanied HMS Buffalo on the trip, with (Osmond) Gilles travelling on Buffalo. They left London on 29 July, arriving at Kingscote on 20 November. They then entered Holdfast Bay, but ran aground when they tried to enter Port River. Tam O’Shanter ran aground on 19 December* 1836, was refloated on 23 December, and was beached.”

* (According to “The South Australian Colonizing Ships of 1836” by L.J. Ewens (1962), “On 18^th December she endeavoured to enter the Port by Light’s passage, but, whilst manoeuvring to enter, fouled the Outer Bar at the entrance, broke a cable in trying to haul off, and grounded. Receiving assistance from the Rapid, and lightening ship, Capt. Freeman succeeded four days later in getting off and up the river, the two ships moving in together. ….. The Tam O’Shanter had a damaged rudder, and her hull was strained, so repairs became necessary. These were undertaken by Capt. Philip Mitchell, who had taken command, and she was laid on the side of the river for repair by Daniel Simpson, ship-builder. ….. The land battery of guns on board the Tam O’Shanter was removed to the lighten the ship when she grounded, ….. Seven months afterwards, on completion of the repairs, the Tam O’Shanter again sailed to Holdfast Bay from the Port River, and  on 16^th August, 1837, cleared for Sydney, …. A week later, meeting with heavy weather in Bass Strait, she began to leak badly. Having some seven feet of water in the hold, she put about to make for Launceston, but became waterlogged, and was beached in a bay near Georgetown, and was later sold …..

Of the wrecking off Tasmania, Wikipedia says, “Tam O’Shanter was wrecked on 30 August 1837, on the north coast of (then) Van Diemen's Land, 16 nautical miles (30 km) east of the mouth of the Tamar River. She was on a voyage from South Australia to Sydney.

Unfortunately, “Sagas of Steam and Sail” by Neil W. Cormack says that the Tam O’Shanter ran aground as she entered the Port Adelaide River Estuary on August 29^th, 1837, but this was the time when the ship was probably entering Tasmania’s Tamar River before becoming waterlogged and beached there.

In a strange twist, there was another vessel called Tam O’Shanter that was twice damaged in the Port River. This vessel, however, was a 15-ton cutter. It is listed in “South Australian Shipwrecks – A Data Base (1802-1989)” by Peter Christopher as having been ‘wrecked’ in the Port River  on 7^th May 1880. Said to have been built in Port Adelaide in 1879, its dimensions are given as having been 45 X 12 X 5.

According to Passengers in History , the cutter Tam O’Shanter was built in 1879 at Port Adelaide. Its tonnage was 15 tons, and its dimensions were 44.8 x 11.9 x 4.8. Of its demise, Passengers in History says “J.McBeath, reg. Port Adelaide. 1880 May 7: Ran upon a broken pile near the entrance of the Port River and foundered. Raised a week later. 1891 June 8: Beached between No.1 & 2 beacons in the Port River following a collision with the Lund (owned) steamer Echuca. 1935: Register closed, broken up.”

The Wreck of the MV Victoria

I recently came across a photo of the MV Victoria on The Surf Chasers’ Facebook page. It came with the comments, “1934 Tunkalilla beach. MV “Victoria”. They never managed to get it of the beach The wreck is still under the water there somewhere.”

David Hooper added the comments, “The tents on the beach and the flying fox were all there for the salvage.” Tim Parsons shared an image taken from seaward, commenting, “MV Victoria was dismantled piece by piece and taken ashore by a salvage company. No mean feat considering the vessel weighed 2500 tons. The image taken from seaward gives a better indication of where on the beach she was stranded. I have viewed satellite images that suggest only parts of the very bottom of the ship may remain. I surveyed the entire beach with side scan from just outside the impact zone on a very calm day. I was getting a pretty good image of the bottom right to the shore pound but could not distinguish any wreckage . The loss of the MV Victoria was attributed to poor visibility caused by a severe dust storm.”

Philip Reiffel commented, “I went to that site in the 80s, the boiler was exposed. That vessel broke up quite quickly!”

According to “South Australian Shipwrecks – A Data Base (1802-1989)” by Peter Christopher, the 4500-ton MV Victoria was wrecked off Tunkalilla Beach on 7^th October 1934. The 1928-built steel ship measured 384 feet in length, 54 feet in width and a depth of 24 feet. Its cargo was 6300 tons of superphosphate.

According to Weekend Notes, “5 October 1934, the Danish ship M.V. Victoria ran aground near Tunkalilla Beach. Carrying thirty crew and two passengers, the vessel was transporting 5700 tonnes of phosphate from the Pacific island of Makatea to Wallaroo. According to the records, the six-year-old ship hit the sand and rocks about 50 metres from the shore, after failing to see the lights during a storm, at around 10:30pm. Tugboats from Port Adelaide attempted to move the 117-metre long ship from the sand, but were unable to move the 4,500 tons of steel before the boat sprang a leak. Captain Jacobsen called abandon ship soon after, on the Sunday afternoon.”

Further, following a photo of the shipwreck, “Captain J. G. Arnold was subsequently awarded the contract for the salvage work on the Victoria. A team of salvage workers, living in tents on the beach, worked day and night in six-hour shifts to remove the debris. A flying fox and winches were used to retrieve equipment from the vessel. The salvage operation was difficult, the engine room was filled with water to a depth of 5 metres, which required substantial pumping to enable the salvage work to continue. Due to the steep gradient of the surrounding land, tractors were used to remove the salvaged goods, which were then sent to Port Adelaide in heavy motor trucks. An emergency steering wheel and siren were sent to the Port Adelaide Maritime museum from the wreck, which lays parallel to the shore, just past the break.”

There are two photos of the wreck on the Weekend Notes web page: -

 

That second photo is the same one that featured on The Surf Chasers’ Facebook page.

The Victoria’s wrecking date is missing in Jack Loney’s “ Wrecks on the South Australian Coast”. The 1934-year heading is also missing. Loney says that the ship was Danish and was making its way back from Makatea to Wallaroo when it ran off course in Backstairs Passage (during a storm?). It struck rocks near Porpoise Head, some 6 miles east of Cape Jervis.

There are two photos of the wreck in Loney’s book, one taken when the wreck occurred in 1934, and the other one taken in 15 years later in 1949.

Loney says that the Victoria “lay about 50m off shore with about 5m of water in her forepeak and was leaking badly. Three tugs despatched from Port Adelaide failed to refloat her so a line was fastened ashore and the vessel abandoned. Salvage crews often worked in rough conditions to remove fittings from the vessel which eventually broke her back and went to pieces before work on her was completed.”

The caption for the 1934 photo of the wreck reads, “After tugs failed to free M.V. Victoria, ashore near Cape Jervis in 1934, salvage crews were working to remove fittings when she broke in two and quickly went to pieces”.

The Yankalilla and District Historical Society Inc. webpage suggests that the Victoria  was wrecked on 5^th October rather than the 7^th. It also states that the vessel was built in Copenhagen. The wreck site is given as “about two miles east of Tunkalilla Station”. Also stated is that “Captain Jacobsen was the ship’s master and there were thirty crew and two passengers.”

Further, “Captain JG Arnold, a Swedish captain and owner of the Dry Dock at Mannum brought in a salvage team of toolmakers, sheet metal workers, drivers and an electrician. The salvage was not an easy job in high seas and because of the weight of crankshafts and engines. The ship quickly broke up in high seas and today it is on a rare occasion that what remains is visible from the beach.”

According to the Society’s Facebook post , “The Yankalilla District Historical Museum holds items and the Historical Society has an album of photographs donated by Dorothy Lord.”

Further, “Captain JG Arnold, a Swedish captain and owner of the Dry Dock at Mannum won the tender for salvage. All but four of the crew abandoned the ‘Victoria’ to seek other passages and Captain Arnold brought in his salvage team of toolmakers, sheet metal workers, drivers and an electrician. Tents were erected and shacks built in a shanty town with two streets - Victoria Avenue and Copenhagen Street. At the same time, there were two Customs officers there to make sure the salvage reached bond stores in Port Adelaide and many sightseers from Adelaide, including members of car clubs.

“There are photos of the salvage taking place - not an easy job in high seas and because of the weight of crankshafts and engines. One crankshaft was salvaged but the second lies at the bottom of the sea. Sue West showed photos taken 20 years ago of two large pieces of metal on the beach - now in the care of owners of Tunkalilla Station. The ship quickly broke up in high seas and today it is on a rare occasion that what remains is visible from the beach.”

The Facebook post includes a photo (from the Collection of the State Library of SA) of “MV Victoria in 1935 showing where the vessel struck land.”

According to a webpage of aquasport.tv, The Aqua Sports Online TV, “Not able to be re-floated, the wreck was salvaged over more than four months. The remains of the Victoria lie in shallow water in a high energy area. Diving this site ideally needs a number of right conditions including low Northerly winds, low swells rolling in from the South and minimal tide movement to assist in limiting sand movement which near kills visibility. On the right conditions, this is an interesting sight to see. Running near parallel to the coast there is good swimming to be had as the wreck is spread out over a couple of hundred metres taking into account that it was a large vessel over 100 metres long.

“Please take caution when diving this wreck. Note: It can also be snorkeled (sic) in the right conditions though there is a reported under-toe (sic) for this beach – so again, a dodge tide is the preferred time.”

The page includes some underwater video footage of the wrecksite (taken by Steve Saville, ScubaCrave (OzDiverDown)?).

The ‘Unidentified Pontoon’ has been Identified

As I wrote at The Breaking up of the Karatta & the Loch Tay at Port Adelaide’s Jervois Basin’s ship-breaking area (a member-only blog), “According to the Jervois Basin Ships' Graveyard Maritime Heritage Trail, (on the list of vessels) ….They also list a ‘Fish Market Pontoon’ and an ‘Unnamed Pontoon’ as being part of the Trail. I was able….  to photograph most of the remains of vessels still evident in the Jervois Basin’s ship-breaking area today (6/11/25), including one of those pontoons: -

 

Note that this pontoon has been described as both ‘Unnamed Pontoon’ and ‘Unidentified Pontoon’.

I was able to take more photographs of the pontoon during a kayak paddle in the Jervois Basin on 2^nd February 2026: -

When I posted these on Facebook , my colleague Chris Frizell commented, “The pontoon was used as part of the Harbours Board dredging program. The suction dredge “South Australian” was a cutter suction dredge, and used large pipes to transfer the silt to either barges or to shore for reclamation. The pontoons were used to float the large pipes. A large part of the peninsula was reclaimed using this method.”

Chris’ comments suddenly turned a ‘boring pontoon’ into a ‘shipwreck story’ for me. The suction dredge South Australian now sits in 20m of water off Glenelg, having been scuttled as a dive wreck in 1985.

Chris’ comments had also revealed the identity of the ‘Unidentified Pontoon’. Perhaps the history books (online pages) can now be updated.

The dive wreck South Australian is also known as just “The Dredge”. I wrote “The South Australian (a.k.a. The Dredge) & the Glenelg Barge” for the May 2008 issue of Dive Log Australasia magazine. Some of those details were repeated in my blog post The Wrecksite of the Dredge (aka the South Australian).

I personally will now hold the pontoon in higher regard.