Retrieving Artefacts Since 1900

Items were occasionally recovered from the wreck site of the Sirius during the 190 years from her wrecking in 1790. Some were washed ashore; others retrieved from the reef or, in the case of one anchor, deliberately blasted from the reef in 1905. This anchor had remained visible on the reef at low tide prompting New South Wales politician Sir Francis Suttor to request it be retrieved and shipped to Sydney, to be placed alongside Arthur Phillip’s statue in the Botanical Gardens. However when the anchor finally arrived in Sydney it had both flukes missing and didn’t look as imposing or attractive as Sir Suttor expected. He had it positioned in Macquarie Place instead.

(Top Left)Captain Walton Drake beside the anchor raised in 1905, Kingston Pier (Norfolk Island Museum collection)
(Top Right) Anchor palm thought to be from the Macquarie Place anchor

Sirius Anchor and cannon mounted in Macquarie Place, Sydney (Above)

Article from the Sydney Morning Herald, 6 September 1905 Above

The anchor had been blasted up from the ocean floor by a number of Norfolk Islanders from the Methodist Church. The Administrator at the time provided the explosives and the men carried out the exercise with the promise of a 20 pound reward. They were reminded of their financial obligation to the Methodist Church in Sydney to encourage their involvement in this exercise.

Interest was revived in 1965 when a film crew from the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) arrived on the island. They interviewed locals to identify the wreck site and were taken out to the area just seaward of the surf zone. Diving over the area they saw copper fastenings bolts, rudder and stern post fittings, copper sheathing tacks, lead shot and a large anchor in-situ. Jack Doyle filmed a story which was aired on the 31st October 1965 in the Weekend Magazine segment. This was the first underwater footage of the Sirius site. The visit by the ABC film crew sparked a desire by locals and others to recover the anchor and other relics known to be on the reef.

The anchor seen on the ABC footage was finally raised by locals in 1973 with the assistance of the SS Holmburn, a Wellington, New Zealand registered ship. Apparently she nearly came to grief during the exercise and her master was reported to have been dismissed on return to New Zealand.

Anchor being raised with assistance from the SS Holmburn, 1973 (Photos by Ian Kenny)

Numerous objects were removed from the site by local divers particularly from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. The introduction of the Historic Shipwrecks Act in 1976 with its aim of protecting the relics of historic shipwrecks prompted many locals to offer the items they had in their personal possession to the Museum and these items are now accessioned into the official collection. Relics may not now be removed from the site without a permit (see Historic Shipwrecks section).

OFFICIAL EXPEDITIONS

Five official expeditions to recover artefacts from the HMS Sirius wreck site were conducted between 1983 and 2002. In the lead up to the 200th anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet in 1788, it was felt that a project that investigated the remains of the fleet’s flagship would be at the heart of the Bicentennial spirit. Jennifer Amess from the commonwealth department with then responsibility for historic shipwrecks, proposed the project. The Australian Bicentennial Authority provided the funds to conduct a survey to determine if the remains merited salvage, and if they did a full-scale operation would commence.

The Western Australian Museum has played a pivotal role in all the expeditions, with personnel from the Maritime Archaeology and Conservation departments on all expeditions. Western Australia had been at the forefront of maritime archaeology after the discovery off the coast in 1963 of two seventeenth-century Dutch trading ships. The Western Australian Museum was given the responsibility for managing the sites and carrying out excavations, thus beginning maritime archaeology in Australia. The West Australians were therefore the most experienced marine archaeologists to undertake the Sirius project. The Western Australian Museum team were complimented in each of the expeditions with other experts from Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland and Norfolk Island.

Diving on the wreck site is dangerous. The ever-pounding surf causes rapid shifts in the sand and the rubble cover in the lagoon, as well as the areas between the inner and outer reefs where the wreck occurred. Standing on the seawall at Slaughter Bay and looking out to sea across the wreck site, is to be looking straight down the Tasman Sea; the surf and the swell are nearly always from the southwest so there is rarely a calm sea. This makes exploration in this area very difficult. This necessitated very experienced archaeological divers being involved.

"The Commonwealth Government invited me to investigate the wreck of HMS Sirius as a part of Australia's Bicentennial celebrations in the 1980s. I brought together a project team of Western Australian Museum colleagues and other experts from all States of Australia. Our first challenge was to determine whether there was a concentration of surviving wreckage that could be called a wreck site. Historical records showed clearly that the Sirius had struck and become fastened upon the high reef near the shore at Kingston, but divers had only previously located scattered items such as anchors and rudder fittings.

We concentrated our searches on the seabed directly under the surf zone. We could only dive there on 'calm' days, and even we were subject to extreme turbulence. We would anchor in 8 metres of water and swim inshore under the breaking swells – observing the board riders skimming above - to the shallow white-water zone where the bubbles and froth generally extended to the seabed. There we competed with the spiny sea urchins in wedging ourselves into crannies in the reef to avoid being swept away while we waited for moments of clear water. But it was there that we found the lower section of the ship – hundreds of rectangular pigs of iron ballast, many still neatly aligned in rows concreted to the reef. And it was there that we found a surprising number of items relating to the structure of the ship, its fittings, and the crew.

There is no other ship as central to the foundation of Australia as the Sirius – Flagship to the First Fleet and the colony's protector during its first years. Its loss was a disaster for the settlement on Norfolk Island and a threat to the viability of New South Wales. Our Bicentennial expeditions salvaged the reputation of the Sirius – historians had previously considered it as a worn-out tub, appropriate only for a stopgap measure of ridding Britain of the nuisance of overcrowded hulks, rather than a long-term colonisation strategy. The project has provided Australia and more specifically Norfolk Island with its only First Fleet archaeological collection. The bower anchor has pride of place in the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, and the bulk of the collection is exhibited close to the wreck site in the Norfolk Island Museum".

As a result of these expeditions many remnants from the flagship of the First Fleet are now available for all to see and our understanding of the circumstances of the wrecking and the construction of the Sirius are better understood. The artefacts of the Sirius are the most significant array of First Fleet cultural heritage and as such they hold National significance.The following information on each of the Expeditions has been drawn from the Reports produced for each expedition.

Expedition No. 1 - December 1983:

The first official expedition on the Sirius wreck site occurred in December 1983 and was sponsored through the Australian Bicentennial Authority. This expedition was established as a brief preliminary survey and archaeological examination of the wreck site. The expedition report was written by Graeme Henderson, and titled “Report to the Australian Bicentennial Authority on the December 1983 Preliminary Expedition to the Wreck of HMS Sirius (1790) at Norfolk Island”.

The stated purpose of the expedition was:

To examine the wreck site of the Sirius and assess the significance of its remnants

To determine the possibility of retrieving artefacts

To identify any research opportunities and potentials for display of the artefacts

To investigate any other Sirius material on the island that had been retrieved in previous years by locals on the island.

Maritime archaeology of this site is difficult due to its situation so close to the reef where the high turbidity constantly changes the underwater seabed. Another difficulty is accessing the site. Norfolk Island has no harbour, so boats have to be lifted into the water using a derrick crane off the pier. Moderate seas are a prerequisite to this operation. On this expedition of six days duration, the weather and sea conditions resulted in only two snorkel dives and one scuba dive occurring.

However even with these limited diving opportunities they were able to identify wreckage some 150 metres from the shore and confined to an area less than 200 metres across. Artefacts observed included a large anchor and two smaller broken ones, a carronade (a gun that is short and light and had the nickname of ‘smasher’), copper fittings, sheathing tacks, a false keel staple, a rudder pintle and strap. All of these artefacts and those inspected that had been previously raised by local divers, appeared to date to the late eighteenth century.

There were important expedition recommendations and outcomes made:

Site Security: The HMS Sirius shipwreck site should be protected through naming as an historic shipwreck site under Australia’s Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976.
Site Management: A plaque should be placed on the foreshore showing the location of the wreck site and stating the significance of the site. It would also request that divers and swimmers keep clear unless supervised.
Amalgamation and housing of the collection: Preparations should be made for the museum on Norfolk Island to provide a secure environment for the collection to eventuate a ‘bringing together’ of all artefacts to complete the Sirius story. The artefacts should be accessible to the public to enjoy for their interest and education.
Survey and Excavation: The site needed to be further explored as it could reveal the story of the people on board when she wrecked and the circumstances of her loss. Further archaeological expeditions were needed as the reef site was aggressive and the artefacts would inevitably be damaged over time.
Conservation of the collection: To ensure that all relics recovered from the site would survive over time, conservation would be required during and after any expeditions.

 The personnel on this expedition were:

Acknowledgements
The expedition acknowledged the assistance of many residents on the island including: The Administrator, Air Vice Marshall Ken Trebilco and his Official Secretary, Mr John Nicholson; the Chief Minister, Mr David Buffett; local historian, Mrs Merval Hoare; Mr Gil Hitch, President of the Historical Society and Trustee of the Norfolk Island Museum; Archaeologist, Mr Robert Varman; Mr Ian Kenny, who transported them out to the site and provided much support; John Lorking, Peter Ely, Kerry Coop and Neil Tavener.. Acknowledgments from Australia were: Jennifer Amess from the Department of Home Affairs, Mr John Bannister from the Western Australian Museum and Mr Vaughan Evans of NSW.

 

Expedition No. 2 - February and March 1985

The objective of this investigation was to locate and accurately plot the artefacts in their assumed stranding location (where the Sirius first actually hit the reef) as well as the final wreck location, which at this stage was still to be found. Artefacts inshore from the wreck site were also to be located and plotted. Through the identification of artefacts and their resting place, they hoped to confirm the definite site of the initial strike of the Sirius and the manner in which she gradually broke up until finally gone.

The expedition report was compiled by Graeme Henderson and Myra Stanbury with contributions by Ian MacLeod, Paul Clark, Mark Staniforth and Paul Brown, titled “Australian Bicentennial Authority Project 1985 Expedition Report on the wreck of HMS Sirius (1790”.

It was expected that three areas would have artefact concentrations and they were described in the Expedition Report as follows:

Site 1 beneath and beyond the outer swell zone
Site 2 beneath the inner swell zone
Site 3 beneath the lagoon, shoreward of the high reef platform

As the planned expeditions began a further two sites were identified and described as:

Site 4 the inside reef section of the high reef platform on the east side of the Kingston pier
Site 5 the area west of the pier

To visualise these areas on location:

Site 1 the outer reef directly out from the causeway
Site 2 the seaward side of the inner reef in line with the causeway
Site 3 standing behind the double boat sheds at Kingston (Munna’s side) looking toward the pier inside the reef
Site 4 Slaughter Bay
Site 5 out past the Nigger Head at the end of Kingston Pier

 Site 1
Charts from as early as the 1790s show that this is the location where the ship struck the reef and it was believed that it remained there. This area proved to be rich with objects. Artefacts including anchors, carronades, ballast and rudder fittings were discovered. This suggested a stranding rather than a final resting place. Captain Hunter’s journal recording of the wreck also backs this up:
 

‘......the iron ballast having dropt out of her bottom, she was lifted fairly round, and was thrown more than her own length near to the shore, as was, by this change in her position, almost out of the reach of the break of the sea; that is, the surf, which before generally broke upon her, now broke outside.......’

Other artefacts discovered in the area included nails, lead sheathing fragments, sternpost fittings, hull fastenings and fittings and shingle ballast.

Site 2
Due to sea conditions this area was difficult for the divers to investigate. Items such as case bottle fragments, stoneware fragment, lead sheathing, musket ball and copper fastening bolts were found. These indicated to the team that this area was the ships final breaking up point.

Site 3
The team saw some shipwreck material on the high reef platform in this area, however it was not consistent with material from the Sirius. It was more likely to be from the wreck of the Ronaki, a three masted auxiliary schooner which also came to grief on the reef in 1943. Several pieces of green case bottles were found which were consistent with the period of the Sirius. The team also found rock concretions that were thought could be mounds of ballast. Samples were taken to see if this was so and were later confirmed as ballast. This area is where a causeway begins, leading towards the shore. It is speculated that it was built around the time of the wrecking to assist with salvage of goods and useful parts of the ship, but documented evidence of its building is yet to be found.

Site 4
A magnetometer search was possible in this area, being fairly shallow and calm inside the lagoon. The lagoon has only a thin layer of sand over small pieces of calcareous rock that is interlocked together and impenetrable. An iron ballast pig (over 50kg) was found and it was suggested that it may have been placed here to provide a boat mooring.

Site 5
This area had wreckage from several ships and also modern debris discarded from the Kingston Pier. Local divers showed the team items that had been retrieved from this site and one piece in particular was of great excitement. This was a part of the steering system known as the spectacle plate. On the face of the plate was inscribed “Berwick” the original name of the Sirius prior to a refit and renaming to become the flag ship of the First Fleet. The expedition team thought it might have drifted to that location attached to a piece of the ships rudder.

The objective of the 1985 expedition was to identify which materials were consistent with the time line of the Sirius. This included for both ferrous and non ferrous material that had been retrieved from the sites, objects that were held in private collections and with the Historical Society of Norfolk Island. It was later confirmed that this material was indeed from the Sirius.

The progress of the 1983 Expedition recommendations were reassessed:

Site Security: The Sirius wreck was now under the protection of the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976.
Survey and Excavation: The 1985 expedition was considered successful in its survey and excavation work. Another season was planned to complete the work.
Conservation of the collection: Conservation of the artefacts recovered occurred on site during the excavations and local were educated in conservation techniques for ongoing care.
Amalgamation of collection: All accessible Sirius material on the island was identified and it was hoped that further material would be identified during future expeditions.
Housing the collection: The material was housed securely on the island. Discussions with the Norfolk Island and Commonwealth Governments began regarding the long term curating and display of the collection.

Personnel
Graeme Henderson  Western Australian Museum, Expedition Leader
Jennifer Amess  Dept. Arts, Heritage and Env.,  Logistics
Ian MacLeod  Western Australian Museum,  Conservator
Myra Stanbury  Western Australian Museum,  Registration, Drawing
Patrick Baker  Western Australian Museum,  Photographer
David Millar  Diving Medicine (QLD),  Doctor
Paul Brown  Maritime Archaeology Assoc.QLD,  Dive Master
Paul Clark  National Parks, Tasmania Archaeologist
Tom van Leeuwen  Maritime Archaeology Assoc. WA, Institute for Maritme Archaeology, and Organisation, Hon. Auditor
Mark Staniforth  Vic. Archaeological Survey,  Archaeologist
Terry Arnott  Maritime Archaeology Assoc. Vic,  Equipment Maintenance
Karen Atkinson  Qld. Diving Instructor,  Diver

Personnel worked as honoraries or were paid by their home institution. All personnel paid a contribution of $120 each to the expedition.

 

Expedition No. 3 - January and February 1987

The expedition Report was complied by Graeme Henderson and Myra Stanbury with contributions from Sharon Towns, Bill Jeffery, Geoff Kimpton, Karen Atkinson and David Kelly, titled “Australian Bicentennial Authority 1987 Expedition Report on the Wreck of the HMS Sirius (1790)”.

Following the 1985 expedition it was expected that a concentration of artefacts would be found in Sites 1, 2 and 3. The aims for the 1987 season were to:

Locate and plot all remaining artefacts on the stranding site

Search to locate the final resting position of the hull and plot artefacts if found.

Locate and plot remaining associated artefacts in the lagoon.

Excavate remaining moveable artefacts in the initial stranding position.

Excavate moveable artefacts in the final wreck location if site was found and surveyed.

Excavate remaining associated artefacts in lagoon.

In addition it was hoped to monitor and promote the conservation, storage and curation of all Sirius objects that had by now been brought to hand.

The first few days of the expedition were spent settling in and preparing for the arrival of the conservation and excavation equipment and waiting for decent sea conditions. Luckily, the day all the equipment arrived brought excellent sea conditions. The next few days provided much excitement with finds such as a sextant, pantograph, gudgeon arm, bronze screws, iron shot and musket balls. One of the boat sheds on the pier set up for registration and conservation of the artefacts had become overloaded with material. A call went out for the islanders to locate ice cream containers or similar containers to store all the artefacts. The boat shed soon became a place of great interest and many locals came to see what was being retrieved from their reef.

It eventuated that Sites 1 and 2 were heavily focussed upon during this expedition. The weather conditions were conducive to diving on Site 2, which can be rather precarious being situated in a gully between the inner high reef platform and the lower outer reef platform. The final resting place of the HMS Sirius was identified during this expedition as being Site 2.

This area proved to be rich in artefact deposits including a large mound of iron ballast pigs covered in concretion, a stone hatchet head of Aboriginal origin and a bronze stove leg, just to name a few. Materials retrieved provided a greater understanding of how the ship was built, used and modified, how it broke up on the reef and the events surrounding its loss - all of which led to the recommendation of another expedition season.

An assessment of the 1985 Expedition recommendations showed that progress had been made across all areas including artefact excavation and care, site management and public education.

Personnel
Graeme Henderson  Western Australian Museum,  Expedition Leader
Myra Stanbury  Western Australian Museum,  Registration
Patrick Baker  Western Australian Museum,  Photography
Geoff Kimpton  Western Australian Museum,  Equipment Organisation
Mary Smith  Australian Bicentennial Auth.
Sharon Towns  Australian Bicentennial Auth.,  Conservation
David Millar  Diving Medicine (WA),  Doctor
Karen Atkinson  Maritime Archaeologist (WA),  Divemaster
Bill Jeffery  South Aust. Dept. of Environ.,  Survey
Terry Arnott  Museum Curator (VIC),  Plant Maintenance
Maree Edmiston  Diver (QLD), Artist

 

Expedition No. 4 - October 1988
Sponsored by British Airways

This expedition was probably the most sophisticated in its objectives due to the data already gathered from the previous four seasons and archival studies conducted over those years. One of the purposes of the expedition was to work with three design propositions and a test model to determine the actual wrecking process. Information gathered via extensive mapping of remnant locations was used to evaluate the three ‘propositions’ or ‘research designs’.

The Report titled “Norfolk Island Government Project 1988 Expedition Report on the Wreck of HMS Sirius (1790)” was compiled by Graeme Henderson with contributions by Ian Macleod, George Cresswell, Bill Jeffery, Gaye Nayton, Isabel McBryde, Alan Watchman, Geoff Kimpton and Tom van Leeuwen.

Research Design Problem Number 1
Over the years historians have argued about the reasons for the establishment of a European settlement at Sydney Cove. Was it a well-orchestrated event for colonisation and resources or a knee jerk reaction to dump convicts? Many answers to the importance and objectives of the First Fleet could be found by knowing the standard of fit-out of the Sirius. Knowing if the ship was in good repair when she wrecked would also unfold some of the story in relation to her wrecking and breaking up. Analysis of all the information gained led to the conclusion that the Sirius was well fitted and designed for the role of flagship of the First Fleet, an important event in British colonisation.

Research Design Problem Number 2
This problem was technical in nature and used oceanographic observations. Archaeologists wanted to establish the condition of the Sirius site to better understand what effect those conditions have had on the artefacts themselves and the spread of the area they are found in. The answer to that question would help them to then answer specific questions they had about the wrecking and the artefacts. An assessment of the condition of the environment of the wreck site was compared with models of wreck sites in British waters using Keith Muckelroy’s 1978 studies. Muckelroy found that seabed topography was the most significant determinant of wreck site condition. It was found that the Sirius fits into the worst site category for which no structural or organic remains are likely to be found, only a few scattered objects.

Research Design Problem Number 3
The essence of this problem was to answer the question “did inappropriate design or poor condition of the ship contribute to the loss of the Sirius at Norfolk Island in 1790”? Despite the desperate efforts of Captain Hunter the Sirius was wrecked because she failed to change tack and the wind blew her backwards onto the reef and holed her. While some historians have seized on the circumstances of the wrecking as evidence of poor sailing performance of the ship, this assertion had never been properly tested.

Progress
At the end of the project it was concluded that most of the original aims of the Sirius Project had been realised, the site had been excavated and secured and the artefacts had been retrieved, conserved and housed appropriately. Public programmes were in place and a Management Plan was instituted.

Personnel
Graeme Henderson  Western Australian Museum,  Expedition Leader
Myra Stanbury  Western Australian Museum,  Registrar
Dr Ian MacLeod  Western Australian Museum,  Conservator
Pat Baker  Western Australain Museum,  Photographer
Geoff Kimpton  Western Australian Museum,  Field Engineer
Bill Jeffery  Sth. Aust Dept of Environment,  Field Engineer
Terry Arnott  Maritime Arch. Assoc. of Vic.,  Equipment
Tom van Leeuwen  Maritime Arch. Assoc. of WA,  Divemaster
Dr Geoff Taylor  Exmouth Hospital, Doctor
Dr Martin Sher  Cairns Private Practitioner, Doctor
Dr George Cresswell  CSIRO Tasmania,  Oceanographer
Maree Edmiston, Artist
Sue Chenery  Aust. Bicentennial Auth.,  Media Coordinator
Hon. Geoff Bennett  Norfolk Island Government,  Expedition Organiser
Locals assigned to the expedition were Barley Christian, Mike Johnson and Bevan Nicolai.

 

Expedition No. 5 - March 2002

This expedition was made possible with a grant from the Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage under the Historic Shipwrecks Program. The expedition Report was written by Nigel Erskine with contributions from Patrick Baker, Jon Carpenter, John Clarke, Dr Adam Lewis and Myra Stanbury, titled “2002 HMS Sirius Expedition Report”.

The purpose of this expedition was to complement and complete the previous examinations of the site by focusing on areas within the lagoon and on the seaward side of the outer reef. This had been prompted by the discovery of further finds of significant artefact material. The 2002 expedition team used sites identified in previous expeditions to maintain consistent archaeological survey, however the new site inside the lagoon was identified as Site 3a.

Some 200 artefacts were retrieved during this expedition. These included items relating to the construction of the ship such as keel staples, clench rings, copper and lead sheathing and sheathing nails, copper alloy nails, spikes and bolts. Artefacts found relating to the personal possessions and equipment of those on board included firearms pieces, lead shot, copper plate, fragments from a copper cauldron, ceramic pieces and glassware.

The vast majority of these artefacts were located in the new Site 3a and were located with hand-held metal detectors. A magnetometer survey of the lagoon was completed and followed up with investigation of any magnetic anomalies. Whilst the team were on the island, an audit and inspection of the existing Sirius collection was also conducted.

The deposit in the lagoon of personal material from the Sirius is probably the first cultural deposit in this area from European settlement. Once again this expedition resulted in only encouraging the ambition to further investigate the site of the wrecking of the Sirius.

From Nigel Erskine, 2002 Expedition Leader and past Director, Norfolk Island Museum:

“ Material from the Sirius wreck site is concentrated on the seaward edge of a shallow reef which forms the outer barrier of the Kingston lagoon. During the four years I was Director of the museum (2000-2004) I was in the perfect position to thoroughly explore the site. As an archaeologist and historian I was fully aware of the significance of the Sirius to Australian history and spent a lot of time snorkelling in the area - gradually coming to understand the site and the seasonal effects of currents and storms.

For much of the year the main site is too rough for comfort but sometimes the sea would just go flat, and it was then safe to swim out over the reef to see the two Sirius anchors on the site. One of the great joys of archaeology is the excitement of discovery and contact with the past and no matter how many times I swam over those anchors I was always transported back to the moment in 1790 when the ship struck. Such moments are addictive and one of the reasons I am still an archaeologist!”

Personnel