PRIESTMAN DREDGE (prior1889-1893)

Priestman dredge on a barge similar to that lost at Fremantle (photo: Graces Guide).

Description:

Steam driven grab bucket dredge

Owner:

WA Government

Construction:

Iron

Sunk:

1893/11/03

Size:

length 40 m (131.2 ft)

Underwater:

On 12 May 1893, during an unsuccessful attempt to turn the dredge upright, it sank. Alfred Edmund Brown, boat builder of Fremantle, obtained the contract to raise the sunken dredge. The Dolphin was used to try and raise the dredge by the use of a chain under the hull, but at the first attempt this snapped under the strain. Diving gear, shackles and other lighter items were recovered by the divers. Eventually on 5 June 1893 the hull was raised. The total cost of salvage was £120. There appears to be no further reports on this dredge. It is possible that it sank again soon after being raised.

Built:

prior 1889 Priestman Bros. Kingston upon Hull, UK

Location:

In 1978 a wreck was found about 120 m off the South Mole and 300 m off shore from Bathers Beach by J. Carpenter. The wreck lies on a sandy bottom in 6 m of water, and is probably the remains of the Priestman dredge which sank in May 1893.

Sinking:

At 11.00 pm on 10 May 1893, as the steamer Albany was departing the port, the dredge was seen to be afloat. The night was a stormy one with rough seas, and on the following morning the barge with the dredge on it was discovered floating upside down. All the gear on deck was lost during this capsize.

Longitude:

115.691333

Latitude:

-32.23750