Volume 17, Number 5

July 2019

From the President

Hello everyone, 

Our next meeting is Tuesday, July 16, at 7:20pm. Parking is again in the museum car park; best to arrive by 7:15 so you can get inside the gate before it’s locked. Lots to talk about this month together with a special presentation from MAAWA member, Ian McCann, on his recent work on the wrecks of Quang Ngai, Vietnam, some of which date back to the 9th century. Ian will also discuss the use of small ROV’s for underwater survey and excavation. 

Our museum liaison for this month is the head of Maritime Archaeology at the WA Museum, Jeremy Green. Do come along and introduce yourself. As always, new and prospective members are welcome and encouraged to join us. Contact info@maawa.net or send us a message through our Facebook page for more info.

See you on Tuesday,

Ian Warne
MAAWA President

Shipwrecks Phone app

NEW PHONE APP NOW AVAILABLE
After a long wait the phone app version of Shipwrecks WA is now available on the Google Play store and iOS for download. Search ‘ShipwrecksWA’ in your app store and download it to your phone for free or head to ShipwrecksWA.com and follow the prompts.

We’re also looking for volunteers to help with articles or links for Shipwrecks‘ social media. We want to spread the work about the app and site on Facebook and Instagram especially. It’s a fatastic collection of info on the physial and historial data about dozens of the wrecks in WA waters, and will continue to grow as we add more wreck-sites and info. If you could share the website shipwreckswa.com with your diving buddies, history-buff friends and social media connections, we’d be so grateful. ShipwrecksWA is a collaborative resource that has been evoloving for a long time, and we get a lot of great feedback about it from divers and armchair-divers alike.

Rottnest Trip September 20-23

At a recent successful meeting with the Rottnest Islands Authority it was suggested that MAAWA might like to include a survey of the Historical Salt Works on our next ‘Rottnest Weekend’.

So we have booked a weekend in September with accommodation for 12 members to conduct the usual underwater Plaque cleaning and commence a new land and perhaps Lake Dive survey of the salt works.

Salt collection on Rottnest Island has a little known but interesting history. It began with the American Sealers, who collected the salt to supplement their wares, then continued with early settlers, convict labour and later commercial interests. This will be the beginning of an exciting new project for MAAWA, so be sure to let us know if you’d like to be involved.

MAAWA Members in the River

MAAWA member Dave Jackson recently completed this fantastic 3D model of Blackwall Reach Barge in the Swan River. The barge was scuttled in 1967 in deep water near the Blackwall Reach cliffs and remains one of the very few dive wrecks in the river with their identity known.

Click here to take a look at the full 3D model. If you’re interested in 3D photogrammetry be sure to keep on eye on MAAWA’s training and events page as we offer a 3D photogrammetry course a couple of times each year.

Other News

From the 1st of July 2019 the new Australian Underwater Cultural Heritage Bill 2018 became law. If you’re interested in underwater archaeology or heritage law you can read the full text here. Australia’s previous federal legislation relating to underwater cultural heritage was the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976, so this update has been a long time coming! 

Earlier this month the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on the Underwater Cultural Heritage (ICUCH) published a model code of practice for safe diving operations in partnership with the UNESCO UNITWIN Network for Underwater Archaeology. This model code of practice aims to reduce barriers to international partnership and promote diver safety. It’s also a good reminder to put your safety first when diving!

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