D9 formerly Parmelia (1929-1962)
D9 at anchor in Cockburn Sound
Description
Suction Dredge
Construction
Steel with 2 pairs triple expansion, steam engines, 800 IHP
Size
length 30m beam 10m
Built
State Implements Works, Fremantle
Owner
Dredging Industries of Australia
Sunk
On 18 September 1962 a storm struck the Fremantle area, and the D9 sank under suspicious circumstances
Location
Cockburn Sound, 2 miles from Alcoa Jetty
Latitude/Longitude
(-32.194148, 115.742084)
Sinking
By 1928 the dredge Parmelia, built in Renfrew, Scotland, in 1896, had become old and not worth repairing. For some years the hull of a new dredge had been under construction by the State Implements Works, and in late 1928 the two dredges were moored side by side while the machinery from the Parmelia was transferred to the new hull. The stripped hull of the Parmelia was then towed to the Ships’ Graveyard off Rottnest Island and scuttled. The new Parmelia had two boilers each weighing about 20 tons to provide steam to the engines that had been transferred from the original dredge. The Parmelia commenced work in Fremantle Harbour on 27 February 1929. In the early 1950s the Parmelia was sold to Dredging Industries of Australia who converted it from a bucket to a suction dredge, and renamed it D9.
Underwater
Excellent scuba diving protected from swell, 12 m depth
Gallery
Location
Videos
Googly Eyes