I ~ REPORT TO THE AUSTRALIAN BICENTENNIAL AUTHORITY ON THE DECEMBER 1983 PRELIMINARY EXPEDITION TO THE WRECK OF H.M.S. SIRIUS (1790) AT NORFOLK ISLAND Graeme Henderson Curator Department of Maritime Archaeology Western Australian Museum January 1984 Report - Department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Museum, No. 22 • I I "You never saw such dismay as the news of the wreck occasioned among uS all; for, to use a sea term, we \ looked upon her as out sheet anchor". Extract of a letter from an officer. 14 April 1790. HRNSW 2:1 p.760 • CONTENTS • Page INTRODUCTION vi ACKNOWLEDGE~IENTS vii 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1. 2. WORK CARRIED OUT ON THE I SIRlUS I WRECK SINCE 1900 17. 3. THE DECEMBER 1983 AUSTRALIAN BICENTENNIAL PROJECT 19. EXPEDITION A. Aims B. Logistics C. Personnel D. Summary of Activities E. D3script::.on of Site F. Methodology on Site 4. SITE IDENTIFICATION 32. A. Location of the Wreck B. Date Range of Artefacts C. Nature and Quantity of Artefacts D. Other Shipwrecks in the Area 5. KNOII'N HMS I SIRlUS I ARTEFACTS 36. A. Artefacts in New South Wales B. Artefacts on Norfolk Island C. Signifi cance of the HNS 'Sir ius ' Artefacts 6. RECOMl-IENDATIONS 68. A. Site Security B. Site Managem ent c. in:) Ar tefact.; Already Ra i sed f r om the I Si ri u5 ' D. Survey and Excavation E. Conservation of the Collection F. Housing and Display 7. REFERENCES 73. • ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1- Dimensional sketch of H.M.S. Sirius. A reconstruction by Captain F.J. Bayldon R.N.R. 2. Figure 2. Sirius among the ice during her voyage around the world. 6. ~" Bradley--', drawing. Figure 3. Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean. 7. Figure 4. Bradley's chart, shOl<ing lead marks for landing. 8. Figure 5. Supply tacks under the bows of Sirius. W. Bradley drawing. 9. Figure 6. The Sirius strikes the reef with her stern. G. Raper drawing. 10. Figure 7. The rescue operation commences. W. Bradley drawing. 11. Figure 8. Arrowsmith chart showing the wreck. The author has superimposed the likely paths of the Sirius and Supply. 14. Figure 9. The anchor was brought ashore in a lighter. Photo: Ian Kenny. 18. Figure 10. View across Kingston to Sydney Bay. Photo: Pat Baker 19. Figure 11. The wreck lies under the outer swell. Photo: Pat Baker. 20. Figure 12. Artefacts were drawn in t he evenings. Photo: Pat Baker. 22. Figure 13. Divers discuss weather prior to launching run about at jetty. 23. Photo: Pat Baker. Figure 14. View across Slaughter Bay to high reef, with surf outside. Photo: Pat Baker. 25. Figure 15. Spiny sea urchins cling to the reef top. Photo: Pat Baker. 26. Figure 16. Anchor with broken shank and broken fluke. Photo: Pat Baker, 27. Figure 17. These sma ll pebbles may have been ballast . Photo: Pat Baker 28. Figure 18. A bronze rudder fitting protrudes from the reef. Photo: Pat Baker. 29 . Figure 19. Ske ~ ch indicating distribution of arte facts on the reef. Not to scale. 29. Figure 20. A diver examines the large anchor. Photo: Pat Baker. 30. Fi gure 21. The anchor raised in 1973. 38. Figure 22. Expedition members measure the Norfolk Island anchor. Photo: Pat Baker 39. Figure 23. Th e anchor has large palms. Photo: Pat Baker. 40. - Figure 24. On e of the guns at the Adminis t ration Building. 40. Figure 25. One of the guns at the conservation laborat ory. Photo: Jon Carpenter. 41. Figure 26. The monograms on the two guns. Photo: Pat Baker . 42. Figure 27. Complete gudgeon at Museum. Photo: Pat Baker. 43. Figure 28. a) Broken gudgeon. Photo: Pat Baker b) Two broken gudgeons. 44. Figure 29. Broken gudgeon. Photo: Pat Baker. 45. Figure 30. Broken pintle. Photo: Pat Baker. 46 . Figure 31. Horseshoe plate. Photo: Pat Baker. 47. Figure 32. Metal strap. Photo: Pat Baker. 48. Figure 33. Trigger guards. Photo: Pat Baker. 49. Figure 34. Rivetted copper pieces. Phvtu: Pat Baker. 50. Figure 35. Copper bars. Photo: Pat Baker. 51. Figure 36. Copper nails. Photo: Pat Baker. 51. Figure 37 . Gudgeon arm. Photo: Pat Baker. 52 . Figure 38. Copper tacks. Photo: Pat Baker. 53 . Figure 39. Bolt. Photo: Pat Baker. 54. Figure 40. Bolt. Photo: Pat Baker. 55. Figure 41. Pintle. Photo: Pat Baker. 56. Figure 42 . Pintle . Photo : Pat Baker. 57 . Figure 43 . ~Ieta l s t r ap. Photo: Pat Baker. 58 . Figure 44. Rivetted copper sheet. Photo: Pat Baker. 59. Figure 45. St onewar e shard . 60. Figure 46. Lead s nee ~ . Photo : Pat Bake r . 60 . Figure 47 . Chain link. Photo: Pat Baker. 61. Figure 48. Nail head, sheat hi ng tac k and f al se kee l s taple . 62 . Phot o : Pat Baker . Figure 49. a) Chain link joiner . Photo: Pat Baker . b) Ch ain s ection. 63. Figure 50. Pintle . Ph ot o : Pat Baker 64 . • INTRODUCTION The Australian Bicentenary is in part a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet. The Sirius, as the principal ship of war, played a major role in that voyage, so the investigation of her remains lies at the very heart of the Bicentennial spirit. In December 1983 I directed a brief archaeological examination of the wreck of H.M.S. Sirius (1790) at Norfolk Island as part of an Australian Bicentennial project. This report assembles some background information about the ship, describes the archaeological activiti es carried out in the field, and presents recommendations as to future work on the wreck site. It should be emphasised that the work was very much a preliminary survey. The expedition only lasted one week, and weather conditions restricted work on site to three brief exploratory dives. Graeme Henderson vi - AC KN O WLEDG E~1E N TS The expedition was funded by the Aus trali an Bicentennial Author ity. Mr s . Jennife r Amess of the Department of Home Affairs (the Commonwe alth de pa rtment responsible f or adminis tering the Commonw ealth' s Historic Shipwrecks Act) arranged many aspects of the expedition, including transport, accomm odation and contacts, and discussions with Island off i c ials . ~Ir. J ohn Bannister, Director of the We s tern Aus tra lian Museum, made me and collea gue ~I r. Pat Baker avai l ab l e for the duration of the expedition . Most of the photographs are the work of Pat Baker. On Norfolk Island the Administrator, Air Vice Marshall Ken Trebe lco; his Official Secretary, Mr . John Nicholson; the Chief ~Iinist e r, Mr. David Buffet; and historian Mrs. Merval Hoare all made time for useful discussions about the project. Mr. Gill Hitch, the President of the Historical Society and a Trustee of the Museum, showed us through the ~Iu s eum collection . Archaeologist Mr. Robert Varrnan allowed u s to examine his collection a t Kingston. Re s idents Mr . Ian Kenny, Mr. John Lawking, Mr. Peter Ely, Mr . Kerry Coop and Mr. Bob II'hi t e very kindly brought the ir arte f act colle ctions to our attention and allowed us to record them. Mr . Ian Kenny and Mr. Neil Tavener made u s f e el very much at home on the I sland, helping with contacts, transport and diving work. Mr. Vaughan Evans of New South Wales a dvised me about the Sirius gun in Sydney. vii - 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND This section outlines the available fra~nents of information about the construction of the Sirius , her condition and contents, and presents a summary of the vessel's role in the founding of the penal colony of New South Wales. The circumstances of the vessel's loss are treated with some detail. The machinery to implement the British Government's decision to found a penal settlement at Botany Bay was put in motion by a letter of 18 August 1786 from the Home Secretary, Lord Sydney, to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. The various departmental officials set to work in a leisurely fashion and the personnel and vessels for the expedition were assembled during the remaining months of the year. The Navy Board chartered six transports: the Alexander, Charlotte, Friendship, Lady Penrhyn, Scarborough and Prince of Wales, and three storeships: the Borrowdale, Fishburn and Golden Grove. Two warships, the Sirius and the Supply, were commissioned to escort the fleet and to then tend to the fledgling colony's needs. The Sirius was the principal ship of war attached to the expedition, yet the details of the vessel, her equipment arid her exact function are generally scanty and disparate in the standard works on the First Fleet. (1) Philip Gidley Kin g. a lieutenant on the Sirius during the voyage out to Australia, gives the most comprehensive contemporary account of the background of the Sirius. She was built as the Bel"\~ick in the Thames in 1780, and was intended as an East-Country man (for trading in the East Indies). In loading her first cargo the Bel"\~ick caught fire and was burnt to the wales. The British Government needed a roomy ship for sending stores abroad, so the Navy purchased the hull in 1781. She was taken into do ck and "run up with the refuse of the yard". (2) Then after being sent once to America during 1. the war, and once after the peace to the West Indies , she lay for some time in dock. According to King, "hen Governor Phillip's need for a warship arose the Ben;ick was simply "pitched on by the Admiralty and her name changed to the Sirius", at which time the "Surveyor to the Navy and Builder of the Yard at Deptford reported her fit for the voyage to IVhich she is destined".