Shipwrecks of Western Australia

Over 1400 ships have been wrecked on the coast of Western Australia. This relatively large number of shipwrecks is due to a number of factors, including:

• a long and very difficult coastline with very few natural harbours;
• powerful storms and gales that are very common at certain times of the year (these winds are normally on-shore);
• a long cyclone season rendering all sea travel hazardous and many harbours ineffectual in providing a safe haven;
• the inability to accurately measure longitude until the late 18th century, and the tendency to reduce ships' travel time by keeping them in the "Roaring Forties" for as long as possible, which caused many ships to fail to turn north for the Indies at the right time.^[1]

Most listings of the wrecks of Western Australia present them chronologically or group them into regions, areas or adjacent capes and coastal features, so as to divide the large number into manageable collections, thematic or regional studies. These groupings and individual data on each site can be seen in electronic databases and in a number of 'hard copy' works produced by a number of authors (e.g. the Australian Shipwrecks series, by Charles Bateson and then by Jack Loney appearing in both formats)^[2] and in focussing specifically on Western Australia, by the Department of Maritime Archaeology at the Western Australian Museum. Its CEO is charged with the responsibility of managing the wrecks lying offshore and in inland rivers and estuaries for both the State of Western Australia and the Commonwealth Government. A chronological listing of all known wrecks on the Western Australian coast, for example, appears in the three volume 'Unfinished Voyages' Series produced by Graeme Henderson with the assistance of other authors.^[3] Sarah Kenderdine produced an analysis of the historic wrecks of the Metropolitan coast.^[4] WA Museum volunteers and Honorary Associates, Peter and Jill Worsley, together with David Totty produced an analysis of wrecks on the mid-west coast.^[5] Other databases produced by the WA Museum include its 'Strangers on the Shore' listing. This work produced by cultural heritage student Lesley Silvester assisted by Michael Murray appears in both hard copy and electronic form and it documents the many interactions between Indigenous people and shipwreck survivors. They landed bereft of the trappings of power that are normally associated with those arriving for exploration, trading or commerce, rendering the interaction doubly of importance in analysing indigenous reactions to 'foreign' presence on their shores.^[6] The Australian Netherlands Committee on old Dutch Shipwrecks (ANCODS) provides details specific to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ships lost on the coast, including a database on the artefacts raised.^[7] The VOC Society is another group providing information on the Dutch wrecks on the coast. Though concentrating on the Dutch East India Company, it also produces regional listings providing information on many shipwrecks.^[8] To assist researchers in obtaining detailed information on many of the wrecks (other than that appearing in its books, articles and journal entries) the WA Museum has made all its unpublished departmental reports available in PDF form.^[9] These deal with a wide variety of shipwreck-related issues.

The WA Museum has also produced a series of pamphlets documenting wrecks in specific regions. Part of its 'wreck trail', or 'wreck access' concept welcoming visitors to shipwrecks as part of 'their' maritime heritage, these and the plaques placed above and below water at many sites are aimed towards cultural tourism, the recreational visitor and schools. Provision is also made for access to sites for people with disabilities, though this program produced with assistance from residents of the Rocky Bay Village is yet in its infancy. Sustainable visitation to the shipwrecks is welcomed and only three wrecks off the coast of Western Australia require a permit for entry to the site. These are the VOC ship Zuytdorp and the WWII adversaries Kormoran and HMAS Sydney. While also presenting its work in books, journals and other specialist outlets, the Department has also promulgated all its wreck reports to the web where they are available in PDF form. Appearing also are bibliographic and artefact databases, shipwreck projects and other data.^[10]

The first known wreck on the Western Australian coast was the Trial (Tryall) in 1622. The Dutch East India Ship (VOC) Batavia, which was lost in 1629, is the best known, being the subject of many books, articles, an opera and numerous films. All the VOC ships following (see list below) have attracted considerable interest, partly because of the treasure they carried, the remarkable stories of their destruction and in some cases salvation, and also the possibility that in some cases survivors may have intermingled with the indigenous inhabitants. This is especially of interest at the wrecks of the Vergulde Draeck and Zuytdorp.

Other notable pre-colonial wrecks include Correio da Azia, a Portuguese Despatch vessel bound for Macau, and Rapid, an American China Trader bound for the Indies. These were both wrecked on the Ningaloo Reef, which like the Abrolhos Islands off Geraldton was a notorious "ship trap". Of the colonial-era wrecks, the James Matthews, a former slave ship, and the SS Xantho, an iron-hulled steamer with a unique ex-gunboat engine are the most prominent. Others prominent on the basis of their being excavated and on the amount of research conducted into them include the Elizabeth Belinda, Stefano, and Eglinton, all early wooden-hulled merchant vessels; the Sepia and Europa, iron barques; the Day Dawn, a former American whale ship; and the wooden whalers Star, Lively, and Lady Lyttelton. The iron-hulled SS Macedon, the composite barque Lady Elizabeth and the other Rottnest Island shipwrecks assume considerable prominence as a suite of sites presented in the "wreck trail", "wreck access" or "museum-without-walls" mode.

In the modern era, HMAS Sydney and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, adversaries in World War II, have been the subject of extensive study. Both wrecks were discovered in 2008.

This is a listing of all shipwrecks recorded on the WA Museum database.^[11]

• ANCODS (Australian Netherlands Committee on Old Dutch Shipwrecks)
• List of shipwrecks of Australia § Western Australia
• Rottnest Island shipwrecks
• Western Australian Museum § Maritime and Shipwrecks Museums

• Henderson, Graeme (1988–2008). Unfinished Voyages: Western Australian Shipwrecks 1622-1900, 3 Vols. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press.
• Bateson, C. (1972). Australian Shipwrecks: including Vessels wrecked en route to and from Australia and some strandings . Volume 1 1622-1850. Sydney: Reed.
• Loney, J. (1980–1987). Australian Shipwrecks 1850-1986 3 Vols. Sydney: Reed.