international capacity by building...capacity building on safeguarding the underwater cultural...

AIMA NEWSLETTER

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Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology

ABN 37 830 874 307 • Registration No. A0820044J Western Australia Associations Incorporations Act 1987 Section 18(6) • ISSN 1446–8948Australasian Institute of Maritime Archaeology Inc. • Department of Maritime Archaeology • WA Museum • 47 Cliff St • Fremantle WA 6160

SAFEGUARDING UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE

IssueIN THIS

Volume 34 Issue 4 December 2015

by

(continued on p.5-8)

1 International Capacity Building (cont. p.5)

2 AIMA Officers’ Reports AIMA Presidents message IKUWA 2016 3 News from NT, 4 News from QLD, 8 News from VIC 11 2015 AIMA Executive

On 19 – 29 October 2015 the Directorate of Cultural Properties and Museums, Directorate General of Culture, Ministry of Education and Culture Republic of Indonesia held International Capacity Building on Safeguarding the Underwater Cultural Heritage 2015 in Makassar and Selayar, South Sulawesi. It was the third annual capacity building program since 2013 that aims to enhance knowledge and skill of human resource in the field of underwater cultural heritage preservation in Indonesia.

This program is important since there are still many underwater cultural heritages that has not been managed well and requires competent human resources. Indonesia, as an archipelago country in Southeast Asia, which two-thirds of its area is water. The long history of Indonesian archipelago has left behind a large number of archaeological remains which scattered in various parts of Indonesian waters.

INTERNATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING

Archangela Y. Aprianingrum & Mita Indraswari

Opening Ceremony of International Capacity Building on Safeguarding the Underwater Cultural Heritage

AIMA2 NEWSLETTER

AIMA Newsletter December 2015 | Volume 34 | Issue 4 ISSN 1446–8948

The final quarter of 2015 was certainly an eventful one with a new Executive and new Council established following our AGM in September. The quarter started with most Executive positions changing hands, with a new Treasurer, new Secretary and two new Vice Presidents. We also saw a change in other positions for example the photography competition administrator. Everyone has hit the ground running and it’s looking like an exciting and productive year ahead.

Congratulations go out to the editors and publication committee of the Bulletin for the release of edition 39. Again AIMA has released a quality peer reviewed journal.

Formal correspondence from AIMA in this quarter included a submission to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand, about the management of artefacts taken from the SS Ventnor shipwreck. In summary the AIMA submission advocated for a conservation management plan for the site and raised artefacts. Our submission also stressed the importance of a register of object holders and the advantages of public holding places (e.g. museums) over private custodianship. AIMA also

From the President’s desk

cc its submission to Heritage New Zealand, which is the agency responsible for the management of the site itself.

Two new working groups have been formed recently. These are the AIMA Diving working group and the AIMA Fieldwork Project working group.

The dive working group will shape AIMA responses to the review of laws, regulations and standards that may impact on occupational diving. The role of the group is to advocate for archaeological scientific diving in particular within the broader scope of occupational diving. The intent here is to advocate on behalf of members by assuring archaeological scientific diving is better understood by decision makers when laws, regulations, and standards governing occupational diving are developed. AIMA is a broad community with both diving and non-diving members, and its diving members have a broad range of qualifications and experiences and are all diving under different circumstances. This diversity aside, there is a role for AIMA to assure decision makers both understand and consider scientific diving in its deliberations.

The fieldwork project group aims to investigate different models for AIMA to run its own archaeological

field projects. Field projects could be run in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. The goal would be to add value to membership by providing more fieldwork opportunities for members. The fieldwork could also feed into other goals such as fieldwork components of NAS training and capacity building in our region.

Please feel free to contact me about any of the items flagged in this report. Welcome to another edition of the AIMA newsletter!

David Steinberg, President

December 2015

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AIMA

AIMA Newsletter |December 2015 | Volume 34 | Issue 4ISSN 1446–8948

Australasia NEWSNorthern Territory

Meigs and Mauna Loa with gas pipeline to their left sites approximately 900 metres apart (circles do not delineate declared areas) after Siwabessy, J., Spinoccia, M., Buchanan, C. & Atkinson, I., 2012. Bathymetry Grid of Darwin Harbour From Survey Onboard the Matthew Flinders - 2011. Geoscience Australia, Canberra.

The NT Heritage

Branch incorporated this imagery into its September 2015 report titled The World War II Shipwrecks of Darwin Harbour: A report on the archaeological inspection and assessment of seven historic shipwrecks. Dive operations in October 2015 inspected a number of targets with one identified as the section of an iron hull, possibly debris dropped from WWII salvage.

In November 2015 the results of a project to map the seabed of Darwin Harbour were formally announced. The project was a collaboration between Geoscience Australia, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Darwin Port Corporation and the NT Department of Land Resource Management. Key deliverables of the mapping program were bathymetric, seascape and habitat maps. The bathymetric survey utilized a Kongsberg EM3002D multibeam sonar. The six week survey mapped 177 km2 in all subtidal areas and some intertidal areas. The data was processed and exported into a high resolution map which is freely available on both the Geoscience Australia website and the Dept. of Land Resource Management (NT Government) website.

For the Heritage Branch the multi-beam survey map provides: • Multibeam imagery of known wrecks; • Landscape perspectives showing distances between historic wrecks and other seabed features such as pipelines, mooring blocks and foul ground; • The topography of the seabed around historic wrecks showing for example rock outcrops; • Anomalies which were flagged as targets for inspection; • Data that will better inform heritage responses to future potential impacts.

AIMA4 NEWSLETTER


Department of Environment and Heritage Protection

QPWS rangers learning the trilateration method of recording artefact positions using the outline of HMS Pandora at the Museum of Tropical Queensland.

An AIMA/NAS Part 1 was held in Townsville in early November 2015. The course was held in conjunction with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and was supported by the Queensland Museum. The course had seventeen participants, including, GBRMPA staff, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) rangers and students from James Cook University. The practical exercises were undertaken in the Museum of Tropical Queensland shipwreck gallery, which also provided students with an opportunity to see the HMS Pandora display.

If you are interested in attending an AIMA/NAS Course in Queensland please email:

[email protected]

Queensland

AIMA Part 1 Course

TASMANIA

King Island Filming The Australian version of the

‘Coast’ series is now onto its third season of filming. During the first series I did a segment on the shore-based whaling industry in southern Tasmania. For this third series the film company are doing a segment on King Island, in particular the 1845 wreck of the Cataraqui (400 deaths) and the subsequent construction of lighthouses in eastern Bass Strait. Presenter Neil Oliver

interviewed Majorie Morgan, who is the co-author of a book on the Cataraqui wreck, on the rocks overlooking the wreck site. I was interviewed at the Cape Wickham lighthouse to discuss the setting up of the lighthouses at King Island and at Cape Otway to define the eastern approach to Bass Strait. Based on previous experience this will probably air through Foxtel around the end of the year or early 2017.

Netherby Commemoration The King Island Historical

Society is currently preparing a display and commemorative activities around the July 1866 loss of the emigrant ship Netherby on the western coast of King Island. Unlike the Cataraqui wreck (see above) there was no loss of life and most of the 452 emigrants ended up in the Victoria, where a number later founded the town of Netherby.

In 2014 I assisted the Historical Society with a long-term loan of a bell from the Netherby, which had been salvaged after the wreck and was on display at the Netherby Primary School in Victoria. There will be a display opening at the King Island Museum at Currie during July 2016 and descendants of the original families will be visiting the island for various events. The Historical Society has previously completed similar commemorative projects with the Cataraqui and Brahmin shipwrecks, and it is hoped that this will be to the same high standard.

MIKE NASH

QPWS rangers learning about gunnery, ship construction and life at sea during the AIMA/NAS course.

Fiona Gardiner Director Heritage Department of Environment

and Heritage Protection

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AIMA


INTERNATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING Cont. from cover

Sites map of Bontosikuyu, Selayar Island, South Sulawesi

The underwater cultural heritage preservation nowadays faces many threats, not only from nature, but also the human threat such as illegal fishing and salvage. Therefore, a good sustainable management is needed in order to meet the public interest as well as the preservation of underwater cultural heritage. The Law Number 11 of 2010 regarding Cultural Properties mentioned that the cultural properties should be preserved as they have important value for history, science, education, religion, and/or culture. Preservation, in this case means the dynamic efforts to preserve the existence of cultural heritage and its value through protection, development, and utilization for the people welfare.

Management of the underwater cultural heritage is not easy, it needs a proper planning on the development and utilization of cultural heritage, while a synergic cooperation is strongly needed amongst the central government, local government, private sectors, and the local community in order to remain on the corridor of preservation.

In this program, the Directorate of Cultural Properties and Museums invited 3 foreign instructors, they were Bobby Orillneda, Erbprem Vatcharangkul, and Ross Anderson, as well as Indonesian instructors, Mr. M. Ramli, Mr. Laode Aksa, and Mr. Agus Sudaryadi. There are 30 Indonesian participating the programme.

AIMA6 NEWSLETTER


Airlift Trial

The capacity building was held in Sangkulu-kulu Site, which is located in Bontosikunyu Water on the west site of Sangkulu-kulu river creek, 0,5 mile from the seashore and 3,78 miles from the port of Benteng City, Selayar Island, South Sulawesi. In the year of 2004, many distributions of various Chinese ceramics are found on the site. In 2009 the was illegal looting of the old ceramics from this site, but fortunately it could be foiled. Then, those ceramics were conservated and now kept in the Museum of Selayar.

The program this year is focusing on underwater excavation. The excavation process begins with a trial using the airlift. The airlift trial was carried out in another location with 12-16 meters depth. It gave the first experience to the participants on how to control airlift and its pressure.

Then the excavation on the real site begins with determining datum point, then making grids with interval 1 meter. The team is divided into 5 groups and the excavation was done continuously by each group. Every action during the excavation process were recorded and documented.

Excavation Process

Distribution of Ceramics

From that excavation, they found many artifacts consist of Chinese ceramics, group of coins, and bamboo. For basic analysis, some artifact samples were taken using liftbag. Then it were documented and labeled. It would help to return the artifact into the original position on the site.

Besides that, every group carried out documentation before and after the excavation. The participant tried to do the 3D photo scanning using digital cameras, then processing it using Agisoft Photoscan software.

The artifacts analysis, especially the ceramics, shows that it had celadon glaze.

Celadon glaze is characteristic in ceramic making technique from the 13th Century during Song Dynasty.

To confirm the conclusion about the period of the site, we are carrying out the carbon dating measurement from the bamboo sample.

Goup of Coins

Chinese Ceramic (Above and Left)

Bamboo Sample for Carbon-dating Process

NEWSLETTER7

AIMA


Hopefully this program could improve our knowledge and skill in the field of underwater cultural heritage preservation. Lastly, many thanks for everyone that has supported the implementation of this program, especially to the instructors, participants, and Regency of Education and Culture Board of Selayar to host our capacity building program.

Reference Mulyadi, Yadi. “Potensi Situs Cagar Budaya Bawah Air Sangkulu-Kulu di Perairan Bonto Sikuyu Kabupaten

Selayar Sulawesi Selatan”, Jurnal Varuna Vol. 8/2014. Page. 65 – 74.

Archangela Y. Aprianingrum & Mita Indraswari Staf of Directorate of Cultural Properties and Museums Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia

3D Images of the coin concentration

AIMA8 NEWSLETTER


ABOVE: Grid A-B

LEFT: Photomosaic Area 1

City of Launceston wreck turns 150

On a clear night on the 19th of November 1865, the SS City of Launceston was heading out of Melbourne carrying passengers, mail and general cargo towards Launceston, Tasmania. The much larger cargo steamer, Penola was heading into Melbourne from Adelaide. Almost inexplicably, the Penola rammed into the starboard side of the City of Launceston. Leaving its stem embedded in the City’s hull,

Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning.

NEWSLETTER9

AIMA


Jane Mitchell (above) and Peter harvey (below) giving a Pre-dive briefing to divers over the city of launceston site

These site interpreters were primarily volunteer AIMA/NAS course graduates and MAAV members.

Overall, the 2006 trial access program was generally considered a success. In total, 15 groups and 146 individuals accessed the site. Due to bad weather, the trial period was extended by an extra month. There were a few issues with divers moving objects around on the wreck in an attempt to get better photographs and evidence of hand fanning and some broken concretions were observed.

the Penola was still able to rescue all passengers and crew and returned them safely to Melbourne.

City of Launceston was relocated in 1980 and is one of Victoria’s most significant shipwrecks. Its discovery led directly to the first Australian state-based shipwreck legislation and it has been resting in a protected zone since 1982. The City of Launceston wreck and associated artefacts is an impressive example of life on board a 19th century iron passenger steamer. The vessel is the subject of significant scientific and archaeological studies; but the wreck is also very fragile and at risk of damage and looting. As such, the site is generally closed to recreational diving.

Previous open access program 2006

After much consideration, the City of Launceston was opened to divers for a total time period of four weeks over March and April in 2006. Access was permitted twice a day, three days per week; a total of 11 access dates and 22 permit periods. There were spaces for a maximum of 264 divers and due to the high number of applications, a ballot was held to fill the spaces. This was a considerable administrative burden on staff, as permits were issued to each individual diver and for each vessel visiting the site. One permit condition was the requirement for a site interpreter to dive with each group.

AIMA10NEWSLETTER


2015 Access Program The 150th anniversary of the wreck was the driving force behind the decision to open the site to divers

again on the 14/15th and 21st/22nd November; the two weekends either side of the actual wrecking date.

To control numbers on the site, Heritage Victoria offered 5 x 1.5 hour time slots each day over the four days with a maximum of 15 divers per timeslot. This meant a maximum of 75 divers per day and a total of 300 divers over the two initial weekends was possible. Heritage Victoria staff were to be onsite at all times and provide a short briefing to ensure divers were aware of the ‘look but don’t touch’ rule and to provide site interpretation prior to diving activities. The unit would also drop two shot lines – one at the bow and one at the stern – to assist divers to find the wreck.

Due to a lack of time, resources and with a minimal budget, the event was not advertised widely. The Minister for Planning, the Honourable Richard Wynne, officially launched the open access program at the 2015 AIMA/ASHA joint conference in Geelong.

An article was published in Divelog magazine in October 2015. Divelog is a magazine widely available through dive shops, newsagents and online applications. The publication of this article saw a significant rise in the number of permit applications Heritage Victoria received.

While there was space for 15 divers per timeslot, there was a requirement to limit the number of boats on site to two – one for each shot line. This did present some scheduling issues, however, Heritage Victoria was able to offer all applicants a permit instead of reverting to a lottery system, although we were not necessarily able to fulfill entire requests. In general, most applicants were satisfied with their allocations. In all, twenty permits were issued for a total of 162 divers over the initial four days.

Despite the weather the site was opened on all four days. The 21st November was blowing a miserable 30 knot wind but still two intrepid boat loads of divers ventured out to the site. Due to the weather and cancellations, 102 divers accessed the site over the course of the four day open program.

The drawback to running an open program at this time of year is that the City of Launceston is covered by weed, making it difficult to discern some of the smaller artefacts on site. It was noted by some divers that a longer time slot would have been beneficial in order to do two dives – getting a debrief in between from Heritage Victoria staff to point them in the direction of things they might have missed. There was a large percentage of divers using rebreathers and twin tank set-ups, which enabled a longer dive time and helped those groups use their time slot efficiently. Heritage Victoria conducted one inspection dive during the open weekends and noticed no artefact movement or sediment disturbance (probably helped by the protection of the weed).

Heritage Victoria has rescheduled the divers who missed out for January 2016 and will conduct an online survey at the completion of the whole program to gauge responses and attitudes to the wreck. Corrosion testing is scheduled for March 2016 to provide an update on the current state of degradation of the hull. This will help inform the decision as to whether to open the site on an ongoing basis in the future.

The feedback from groups on site was positive. Divers were appreciative of the opportunity to dive the wreck, particularly divers who had dived it during the previous open program. Groups would have liked more – and longer - time slots. But as always it is a balancing act between the number of dive groups and the physical resources of Heritage Victoria to schedule the dives , issue permits and be onsite. Overall, the open program so far has been a success.

Acknowledgments Heritage Victoria would particularly like to thank the people who volunteered their time over the course

of the anniversary open diving weekends. Enrique Aragon, Sven Bartels, Adelle Scott, Peter Taylor and Des Williams’s contribution to the success of the access program was significant and Heritage Victoria is extremely grateful for the contribution of their time, hard work and unfailing good humour.

NEWSLETTER11

AIMA


Peter harvey, annitia rynhart, Jane Mitchell, andy halloran on shiPwreck Patrol]

fresh rust Patch on the bow of the city of launceston]

Compliance efforts in Shipwreck Protected Zones Heritage Victoria’s maritime archaeologists and compliance officers have recently increased patrolling

Historic Shipwreck Protected Zones in Port Phillip. Protected zones are designated to keep particularly significant and fragile historic shipwrecks safe from damage by marine activities such as anchoring vessels, fishing line entanglements and unauthorised diving. There are six designated protected zones within the bay, around the William Salthouse, City of Launceston, Joanna, Clarence, Will o’ the Wisp and Cerberus.

Heritage Victoria patrol these zones with a particular focus on the wrecks of City of Launceston (the first ferry between Melbourne and Launceston, wrecked in 1865) and Clarence (wrecked in 1850). These two wreck sites are particularly vulnerable to damage from fishing boat anchors as Clarence is a known fishing spot for whiting while City of Launceston is a target during snapper season which runs from October to December. Two fishing boat anchors were discovered wedged in the bow of the Launceston during inspection dives in November, with fresh rust forming where they had scraped across the hull.

The maritime unit has recently been issued with departmental compliance uniforms on patrol and it was noted that there was an increased level of cooperation and politeness from the public who were receptive to the information provided to them.

We managed 5 compliance and

enforcement runs this quarter. At the City of Launceston site we encountered quite a few fishing boats illegally inside the zone. Over the five compliance dates, we spoke to the skippers of 9 vessels. We issued 2 official warnings to boats that were well inside the zone. All boats were given a pamphlet outlining the six protected zones and their locations within Port Phillip so hopefully we won’t find them in those positions again. However, if they are caught in the zone again they will be issued with infringement notices.

AIMA Newsletter Vol 34 Issue 4-December 2015 ISSN 1446–8948

EXECUTIVEAIMA 2015–2016

EDITOR’S NOTE

Officers President

Senior Vice President

Vice President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

State Councillors

A.C.T. Queensland New South Wales

New Zealand Northern Territory South Australia

David SteinbergDLPE Heritage BranchGPO Box 1680DARWIN, NT 0801Ph: (08) 8999 5041Fax: (08) 8999 8949E-mail: [email protected]

Ross AndersonWA Museum, DMA47 Cliff StreetFREMANTLE, WA 6160Ph: (08) 9431 8442Fax: (08) 9431 8489E-mail: [email protected]

Cass PhilippouE-mail: [email protected]

Amer KhanE-mail: [email protected]

Charlotte LooramFlinders University, ArchaeologyGPO Box 2100ADELAIDE, SA 5001Email: [email protected]

Celeste JordanFlinders University, ArchaeologyGPO Box 2100ADELAIDE, SA 5001E-mail: [email protected]

Andrew VidukaPeter IllidgeBrad Duncan, Danielle Wilkinson, Chris Lewczak, Stirling Smith

Andy Dodd, Kurt Bennett, Matthew CarterDavid SteinbergJonathan Benjamin, Mark Polzer, Wendy van Duivenvoorde

Tasmania Western Australia

Victoria

USA

Publications Committee

Newsletter Editor

Website Administrator

Public Officer

AIMA/NAS Senior Tutor

AIMA/NAS Tutors

Mike NashNicolas Bigourdan, Vicki Richards, Maddy McAllisterPeter Harvey, Peter Taylor, Mark RyanJennifer McKinnon

Jennifer Rodrigues , Jane Mitchell, Myra Stanbury, Jeremy Green, David Gregory, Peter Harvey, Sarah Holland, William Jeffery, Margaret Leshikar-Denton, David Nutley, Jason Raupp, Nathan Richards, Vicki Richards, Della Scott-Ireton, Debra Shefi, Ross Anderson, Matthew Carter.

Paddy Waterson

Chris Lewczak

Secretary

Cassandra Philippou

(NSW) Cass Phillippou; (NT) David Steinberg; (NZ) Andy Dodd; (QLD) Paddy Waterson; (SA) Peta Straiton; (VIC) Peter Harvey; (WA) Nicolas Bigourdan

Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology, Inc. Registration No. A0820044JWestern Australian Associations Incorporation Act 1987 s.18(6)Newsletter Registered by Australia PostPublication No. WBH 1635

Dear Members, Can I please request the urgent submission of

news items and articles for the first quarter of 2016 - at this stage I only have a small number of submissions.

- Editor.

The AIMA Newsletter is supported by:

THE HISTORIC SHIPWECKS PROGRAM

AIMA NewsletterVolume 34, Number 4 December 2015

international capacity by building...capacity building on safeguarding the underwater cultural...

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