Did you know that Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) is responsible for managing shipwrecks and downed aircraft sites in Tasmanian waters on behalf of the Australian Government?
With almost 1,000 ships lost in our waters, many of these wrecks have rough locations recorded. This makes it hard to manage them when their condition and exact location is unknown.
Recently, PWS Historic Heritage Manager Annita Waghorn joined an underwater survey aboard the on CSIRO research vessel RV Investigator. Annita worked with experts from CSIRO, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australian National Maritime Museum, University of Adelaide, Elders and Traditional Owners of Sea Country, and heritage agencies from New South Wales and South Australia.
Science team-RV Investigator-Brisbane
Photo: CSIRO-Alison Donnellan
The main goal was to explore two underwater Indigenous cultural sites in NSW waters and survey shipwrecks along Australia’s east coast and Tasmania. CSIRO underwater cultural heritage experts and technicians used multibeam sonar to map the seabed and identify wrecks.
While the team was in Tasmanian waters, they surveyed eight locations where shipwrecks were thought to be. No wrecks were found at any of these locations demonstrating the challenges of researching and protecting such sites.
CSIRO hydrographic surveyor Phil Vandenbossche-Shipwreck mapping
Photo: CSIRO-Alison Donnellan
The team also scanned the SS Tasman wreck site off the Hippolytes at the Tasman Peninsula, using high resolution sonar. This is the first time this wreck has been scanned using this technology. There have been plans and models made by private divers who first located and identified the wreck. The new scans give managers more information about how the wreck is lying on the sea floor and helps with the management of the site.
SS Tasman wreck site_3D scan with labels showing the location of the wreck
Photo: CSIRO
SS Tasman wreck site Bathymetry scan
Photo: CSIRO
This voyage helped build stronger connections between all the participating organisations and will assist in developing plans for further surveys for Tasmanian shipwrecks.
This research was supported by a grant of sea time on RV Investigator from the CSIRO Marine National Facility. Data from this voyage will add to the Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database and form part of the Australian contribution to the international Seabed 2030 program.