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Maritime History, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Queensland Stories

14 June 2019: Bicentenary of Philip Parker King and the HMS Mermaid visiting the Townsville Area

14 June, 2019 qldmuseum Leave a comment

This article is the first in a series about the historical maritime mapping and interaction along the North Queensland coastline.

The Mermaid at Cape Cleveland

Phillip Parker King 1816 — Lieutenant Philip Parker King RN (1816)

On Sunday 14 June 1819, HMS Mermaid rounded Cape Cleveland in north Queensland and made an unscheduled stop, anchoring off present day Red Rock Bay. In command was Lieutenant Phillip Parker King RN, the Australian-born son of the third New South Wales Governor (Philip Gidley King) who, together with his crew, was on his third voyage surveying the Australian coast.

The Mermaid, an 84-ton cutter constructed of teak, had been built in India and measured 17 metres in length with a draft of just three metres when loaded. It had a complement of about nineteen officers and crew and was an ideal vessel for hydrographic surveys requiring access to inshore areas. It was later to become unseaworthy because of construction issues, and for King’s fifth and final survey voyage, the Mermaid was replaced by the brig Bathurst, a vessel of twice the size.

King's Sectional Drawing of the Mermaid — Philip Parker King’s sectional drawing of the *Mermaid*

The purpose of the Mermaid’s unscheduled stop was to confirm King’s assumption that potable water and wood fuel (to replenish his vessel’s supplies) could be accessed on the lee of Cape Cleveland. King sent Frederick Bedwell, his first officer and senior master’s mate, ashore to undertake the search. Bedwell was accompanied by Allan Cunningham, a botanist and eager explorer attached to the Mermaid’s crew on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks.

Frederick Bedwell (undated)

Alan Cunningham (undated)

After finding a perennial stream (entering the sea in today’s Bedwell Bay), Bedwell returned to King with a favourable report, and the decision was made to remain at anchor for several days and send watering and wooding parties to restock the vessel. On 17 June 1819, after three days re-stocking, the Mermaid again weighed anchor and continued its hydrographic survey north.

Mermaid Chart Cleveland Bay from King's Narrative 1825 — Mermaid Chart Cleveland Bay from King’s Narrative 1825

During the Mermaid’s three-day stay at Cape Cleveland, Frederick Bedwell sounded across Cleveland Bay towards today’s Picnic Bay on Magnetic Island (named Magnetical Isle by Captain James Cook) and then towards the beach at today’s Rowe’s Bay on the mainland. Bedwell established that the depth of Cleveland Bay was suitable for shipping and anchorage.

In the meantime, King, Cunningham and John Septimus Roe, second master’s mate and assistant surveyor, explored parts of Cape Cleveland. They climbed a peak, made sketches and recorded observations in compliance with King’s instructions from the Colonial Secretary. Cunningham collected several botanical ‘novelties’ including the first specimen of the hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) on mainland Australia, and King remarked on the swarms of butterflies, quite probably the blue tiger (Tirumala limniace).

Blue Tiger Butterfly

Hoop Pine

King and Cunningham observed several thatched huts of pandanus palm and the remains of cooking fires, indicating Cape Cleveland was certainly inhabited. King also noted an inconsistency in his compass bearings, remarking that it may have had similarities to James Cook’s observations when passing Magnetic Island. Later, when departing on 17 June, King recorded his first sighting of Aboriginal peoples on Magnetic Island.

An important story, largely untold, unknown and unacknowledged

The Mermaid’s stay at Cape Cleveland two centuries ago marks the first recorded landing by Europeans in the Townsville area. Today, the city of Townsville has grown in importance as Australia’s largest tropical city with a population of almost 190,000, surpassing the size of the Northern Territory capital city, Darwin.

When Frederick Bedwell RN stepped ashore at Red Rock Bay, the establishment of a permanent European settlement near the mouth of Ross Creek was still almost half a century away. It was not until 1864 that settlers arrived by land, rather than by sea, and established the port city of Townsville to serve a developing pastoral hinterland.

Regrettably, the importance of these expeditions in Australia’s maritime history, the achievements of Phillip Parker King and the Mermaid’s crew in surveying the Australian coastline over four remarkable voyages between 1817 and 1820, and a fifth major exploration by the same crew in the sloop Bathurst in 1822, remain largely unknown to the Australian public.

The Mermaid 4 December 1820 — *Mermaid* 4 December 1820

King’s instructions from the colonial office and the third survey

Phillip King’s instructions were to finish the task that Matthew Flinders was unable to fully complete – to conduct a full examination of the ‘New Holland’ coastline. The detailed survey work undertaken between 1817 and 1821 by the Mermaid and its crew (and the following year on the Bathurst) indisputably confirmed that the Australian continent was indeed an island.

In addition, King had been tasked by Colonial Secretary, Lord Bathurst, to record and report on a formidable list of diverse matters including weather conditions, mountains, animals, vegetables, wood, minerals, metals or stones, details of local communities, their languages and way of life. They were also to record any products of use for export to Great Britain, which explains the inclusion of botanist and scientist Allan Cunningham in the Mermaid’s crew.

King’s third survey, which included the interlude at Cape Cleveland, departed Sydney on 8 May 1819. After a few days break at Port Macquarie, the Mermaid sailed further north on 21 May destined for Torres Strait, Coepang Timor and eventually back to Sydney via Bass Strait.

Map of the Mermaid's Third Voyage — Map of the *Mermaid’s* third voyage

The Mermaid’s crew and their legacy

In retrospect, it is difficult to underestimate the courage, skill and ingenuity displayed, as well as the hardship endured, by the Mermaid’s crew in their pioneering and unassisted survey work in remote areas. The men were young: Lieutenant King was 27 years old and both master’s mates, Bedwell and Roe, just 22 years old; botanist Cunningham was 28 years old. All went on to achieve further positions of respect in the Australian colonies.

Phillip Parker King has the distinction of being the first Australian-born Rear Admiral and, apart from his expertise as a mariner and naval hydrographer, he later achieved great respect and admiration as an administrator and pastoralist and served on the New South Wales Legislative Council.

Allan Cunningham was acknowledged in later life as a resolute explorer, botanist and writer. Many places in both Queensland and New South Wales, including a federal electoral division in New South Wales, are named in his honour.

John Septimus Roe, a skilled hydrographer and prolific writer who was King’s assistant surveyor from 1817, later achieved fame as an explorer and was, for forty years, Western Australia’s Surveyor-General as well as holding other important public positions in the service of the colony.

John Septimus Roe 1823 — John Septimus Roe (1823)

My forbearer, Frederick Bedwell (1796 – 1857), joined the Royal Navy shortly before his fourteenth birthday, entering service on 8 September 1810. From 1811, he served with Sir George Cockburn in Cadiz during the Napoleonic Wars and again at Chesapeake in the north American campaign. He also served as master’s mate with Cockburn on the Northumberland, escorting Napoleon Bonaparte to exile on St. Helens, and he later trained in hydrography before his appointment as second in command of the Mermaid, a position he retained on all of the voyages of the Mermaid and the Bathurst.

In later life, following several years in England, Frederick Bedwell returned to New South Wales and captained ships for the NSW colonial administration. He married Susannah Matilda Ward in 1832 and became a pioneer landholder in the Paterson area of New South Wales’ Hunter Valley in 1837 on their property ‘Valentia’. There he is credited with introducing the willow tree to Australia.

Velentia — Valentia at Paterson circa 1840

The Bedwells had twelve children, and their third child, daughter Zorayda Anne Bedwell (1836 – 1924), married Charles Allan Dun (1823 – 1908), the third child and eldest son of neighbouring Paterson landholders, William Dun and Maria Dun nee´Burdett, in 1857. Frederick Bedwell had also fathered a daughter Eliza (born at the end of 1820) to Louisa Calcott of Sydney.

Charles Dun and Zorayda (Bedwell) moved north and were among the first landholders in the Lake Cootharabra area of south-east Queensland. Dun’s Beach on the lake is named after them. Their son, Percy Vivian Dun, married Elizabeth Ann Cork who, with her family, moved to the township of Ayr, south of Townsville, in the very early years of the twentieth century following the incapacitation of Percy in a mining accident. They were my great grandparents.

Today, it is likely that there are thousands of living descendants of Frederick Bedwell, and many of them are probably unaware of their forbearer’s contribution to the development of modern Australia. It follows that Australians, at large, are also unaware of the importance of the work of the Mermaid and the Bathurst and their officers and crew in the story of modern Australian. The unscheduled landing and interlude at Cape Cleveland are part of the overall substance of King’s five hydrographic surveys, although the significance of that first visit clearly needs to be shared with today’s residents of Townsville.

Map of Newly Named Bedwell Bay 2010 — Map of newly named Bedwell Bay (2010)

Written by Ken Dun. Compiled by Dr Maddy McAllister, Senior Curator Maritime Archaeology

Sources

King, Phillip Parker 1826, Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia: Performed between the Years 1818 and 1822, Volumes One and Two. John Murray, London.
Volume 1 – http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00027.html
Volume 2 – http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00028.html

Dun, Antje, 2018, Wonders, wishes and waves, Smashwords.
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/wonders-wishes-and-waves-diary-of-an-accidental-explorer
(A children’s interpretation of Phillip Parker King’s Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia: Performed between the years 1818 and 1822 written by one of Frederick Bedwell’s descendants).

Phillip Parker King – album of drawings and engravings, 1802-1902
http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110326801

Further reading

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-01-07/mermaid-hunters-confirm-ships-discovery/259780

https://theconversation.com/the-murujuga-mermaid-how-rock-art-in-wa-sheds-light-on-historic-encounters-of-australian-exploration-116815

https://www.nla.gov.au/blogs/behind-the-scenes/2016/09/28/swallowed-by-the-sea-the-mermaid

http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/2019051611392/regional/pilbara-ship-engraving-may-depict-british-ship-mermaid-1818

https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/10/06/3333836.htm

https://www.modelerscentral.com/ship-model-kits/modellers-shipyard/hm-cutter-mermaid-1817/

https://www.sea.museum/2009/12/21/a-model-tale

Exhibitions & Events

We remember the first explorers on the Moon, do you?

13 June, 2019 qldmuseum Leave a comment

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the historic Moon Landing, we’re flashing back to 1969. On Monday 21 July at 12.56pm, Eastern Standard Time, Queenslanders were among the estimated 600 million people watching the Apollo 11 Moon landing television broadcast across the world.

The event received extensive coverage in television, radio and print media. These editions of Brisbane’s Courier Mail, published on 21 and 22 July, feature articles about the Apollo 11 mission and crew, along with public and political views on the Moon landing.

The newspapers show the broader impact and excitement around the event, with advertisements for “prices out of this world” at David Jones, and cameras with a lunar connection such as “Minolta lands on the Moon!” The Courier Mail also highlighted a Queensland connection to the Apollo 11 mission, with titanium from the Tin Can Bay area used in the manufacture of the command ship, lunar module lander, and the Saturn V rocket. At that time, a large percentage of titanium used around the world was refined from Australian rutile.

dg0229 — One small letter from Michelle Chooke, Queensland

A Letter from Neil Armstrong

The story of the landing on the Moon was not only a global event but a personal one for all who waited and watched. Michelle Cooke was a 16 year old school girl from Scarborough, Queensland, fascinated by space. When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, she sent a letter congratulating the astronauts on their massive achievement. To her delight space hero Neil Armstrong replied, thanking her for her best wishes and ensuring these would be passed on to ‘Mike and Buzz.’ She still treasures this letter to this day, alongside her copy of the National Geographic magazine commemorating this historical event.

National Geographic magazine featuring Apollo 11, Dec 1969.

Next stop, the Moon

Can you imagine the excitement of a crowd chanting “Go! Go! Go!” while a rocket ship tears up the sky on its way to space? Perhaps, you were actually there amongst the crowd as a young child, or know someone who was? On July 21, according to The Montreal Star that’s exactly what was happening down on Earth as the population, and traffic stood still. Motor vehicles came to a grinding halt in a 50 mile long traffic jam around the Cape Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, as people flocked to see history in the making.

These old newspapers were courtesy of Queensland Museum’s Event Manager, Luke Diett’s Mother. Do you still have any Moon landing mementos?

Your Moon landing memories

Do you remember the excitement of watching Neil Armstrong’s first step foot on the Moon? Share your Moon landing memories with us along with any images by using the hashtag #SpaceQM and tag @qldmuseum for a chance to be reposted on social media and featured on our blog.

Here’s some helpful prompts to jog your memory:

Where did you view the Moon landing on 21 July 1969?
Who were you with?
How did you feel seeing the rocket ship launch into space?

The ultimate Moon landing memory, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s footprints, are probably still etched into the lunar soil thanks to the lack of atmosphere on the Moon.

Make sure to stop by NASA – A Human Adventure to explore the extraordinary collection of more than 250 artefacts from the United States and Soviet Union space programs including items that have actually been to space. Skip the queue and book online here to save time.

New species

New Species of Skink

12 June, 2019 qldmuseum Leave a comment

Did you know Skinks are the largest and most diverse family of lizards and range in size from as small as 22 millimetres right up to the common Blue-tongue up to around 320 millimetres?

Queensland Museum scientists have described three new species of skinks found in a small pocket of land in North Queensland. The three new species are Lerista anyara, Lerista alia and Lerista parameles.

Lerista anyara, Olkola country, Qld. S. Wilson. 8139 — *Lerista anyara. Photo by Steve Wilson, Queensland Museum.*

Found in the remote Olkola National Park in north Queensland, the skink (Lerista) was discovered by consultants working with Traditional Owners on the Kimba Plateau, in Cape York, following Bush Blitz, a species discovery program. The Olkola people who helped find the skink, contacted Queensland Museum herpetologist Dr Andrew Amey who confirmed it was a new species.

Fig-8-Lerista-alia-J94337_live_a — *Lerista alia. Photo by Steve Wilson, Queensland Museum.*

Dr Amey worked with senior curator reptiles, Patrick Couper and Research Fellow and Molecular Identities Lab Manager, Dr Jessica Worthington-Wilmer, to describe the new species, Lerista anyara, which is known to only inhabit the Kimba Plateau.

“It was quite surprising to find the presence of skinks on Kimba Plateau as the nearest relative is 500 kilometres south, so it’s very interesting they exist on this small pocket of land,” Dr Amey said.

Dr Amey said he enjoyed working with skinks because of their diversity. “Because of the diversity between different species, they can be difficult to define, most have smooth, shiny overlapping body scales and have four legs, with five fingers and toes, but some have small reduced limbs with few digits or even no limbs at all,” he said.

Lerista parameles, QMJ95806. Savannah Way via Almaden, Qld. S. Wilson. 8372 — *Lerista parameles. Photo by Steve Wilson, Queensland Museum.*

Queensland Museum CEO Dr Jim Thompson said recording new species and understanding their distribution is critical to ensuring their long term conservation. “It’s a credit to our Queensland Museum scientists that they continue to describe new species and enrich our knowledge of the state’s biodiversity,” he said. “As a scientist you never stop learning and researching and taxonomy is just one of the many roles the scientists undertake here at the museum, for the benefit of all Queenslanders.”

Explore Wild State on level 4 of the Museum to view more Queensland animal species.

Anzac, War

Queenslanders Band Together

5 June, 2019 qldmuseum Leave a comment

As Queensland celebrates its 160^th birthday this year, we’re shining the spotlight on a time throughout history where Queenslanders banded together, the First World War.

Each year Queensland Day on 6 June marks the official separation from New South Wales as an independent colony. One of the most significant historical events to rock Queensland was the First World War in 1914. Today we look at items on display at the Anzac Legacy Gallery which serve as a reminder of challenging times for the state, sacrifice and comradeship.

Queensland Army Recruiting Poster

Could you imagine seeing this Army recruitment poster in the streets and enlisting into the army at 18 years old? This was the reality for nearly 58,000 Queenslanders, and more than ten times as many civilians who supported their war efforts back home. The poster shows two maps; one of south east Europe and the other focusing on the Gallipoli area. The poster reads “Queenslanders your country calls” along the top and “We’re coming lads hold on!” in bottom right hand corner.

World War 1 Nurse’s Cap

This nurse’s cap is homemade and belonged to Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) member, Miss Evelyn Drury. The primary role of a VAD member was that of nursing orderly in hospitals, carrying out menial but essential tasks – scrubbing floors, sweeping, dusting and cleaning bathrooms and other areas, dealing with bedpans, and washing patients. They were not employed in military hospitals, except as ward and pantry maids; rather, they worked in Red Cross convalescent and rest homes, canteens, and on troop trains.

Yes button badge for 1916 or 1917 referendum

These referenda held at the height of the First World War established the principle that there would be no conscription for the armed forces during that conflict. They were remarkably divisive and demonstrated an Australian popular refusal to accept compulsory membership of the armed forces, which was at odds with the vast numbers who had joined up voluntarily.

Anzac Legacy Gallery

The Anzac Legacy Gallery is a permanent exhibition on level 1 of the museum and explores the stories, objects, and journeys that trace how the First World War changed the face of Queensland and continues to shape our lives, a century later. The gallery is summarised into three major thematic areas, Queensland at War, The Story of Mephisto and Queensland Remembers and features more than 500 objects and 200 personal stories.

Read more blog posts ‘Stories in living colour’ here and ‘A man from Glamorganvale’ here.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Cultures, Collection, Conservation, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Queensland Stories

National Reconciliation Week

29 May, 2019 qldmuseum Leave a comment

This blog post is part of an ongoing series titled Connecting with Collections. The series offers readers a peek inside collections at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, highlighting objects and their stories.

National Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June) celebrates the shared histories, cultures and accomplishments of Aboriginal People and Torres Strait Islanders and the broader Australian community. It urges all Australians to learn how we each can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. National Reconciliation Week commemorates two significant milestones: the date of the successful 1967 Referendum, and the date of the Mabo decision.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week in 2019 – GROUNDED IN TRUTH – recognises that to strengthen Australia’s race relations, the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and all other Australians must be built on truth. The theme encourages all Australians to come to terms with our shared history, to unify the country and continue to create a culture of respect and understanding.

THE 1967 REFERENDUM

The 27^th of May, 1967, marks the date of the Australian Referendum, in which over 90% of Australian voters said ‘YES’ to amending the 1901 Constitution in support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The overwhelmingly successful vote meant that Aboriginal People and Torres Strait Islanders would now be included in the census, and allowed the Commonwealth, rather than each individual state government, to create laws for them. This addressed the inequalities within the legal system from state to state. The Referendum became a key symbol for the equal rights movement of the 1970s.

THE MABO DECISION

Eddie Koiki Mabo was from Mer (Murray Island) in the Torres Strait. Mabo famously challenged the Australian legal system and won his people’s case for land ownership. The case, Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992) made its landmark decision on 3 June 1992, granting recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as traditional owners of the land of their ancestors. The Mabo decision was a turning point for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the fight for native title.

The Mabo decision abolished the doctrine of terra nullius, which was put in place by British invaders in 1788, meaning the land belonged to nobody. The Mabo decision identified that terra nullius should never have been applied to Australian land, instead recognising that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had occupied the land for 40 000 – 60 000 years before the British arrived.

In honour of National Reconciliation Week, have a look below at a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts from the Townsville region, that represent the Aboriginal communities from this part of the state.

This shield was made by the Rainforest people situated between the Townsville and Mossman Regions. This community is best known for their swords and shields, which distinguish them from other Indigenous language groups. Shields such as this one were shaped and then painted with rich ochre colours, creating abstract designs that represented both animal and plant totems.

A hafted stone axe, made by Russell Butler in 1998.

This digging stick was found by the Environmental Protection Agency during field work at Ross Creek, Townsville in 1998.

This necklace was made using echidna quills and red sandalwood seeds, threaded onto a nylon line with a gold plated catch. It was made in Townsville by Dot Prior in 1998.

This woven Pandanus basket was made by Sarah Wapau in 1990. Ms Wapau was born on Thursday Island, and was a prominent member of the Torres Strait Island community in Townsville when this item was purchased by the Museum in 1991.

Sophie Price, Assistant Curator Anthropology, Museum of Tropical Queensland

Conservation, Marine Environments, Reptiles & Amphibians

World Turtle Day

20 May, 2019 qldmuseum Leave a comment

World Turtle Day is #Shellebrated globally on 23 May, to celebrate these incredible creatures, increase knowledge, raise awareness of the impact of plastic pollution, and to highlight the importance of protecting their disappearing habitats. Did you know six of the world’s seven marine turtle species are known from Queensland? You can read more on sea turtles here.

The Impact of Plastic Pollution

Every bit of plastic that has found its way into the ocean or is buried in landfill still exists. The global production of plastic has now reached 300 million tonnes a year with production doubling every 11 years. It is everywhere in our lives and is a major source of pollution. Around 8 to 12 million tonnes of plastic enter the sea every year and around 18,000 pieces can be found in every square kilometre of ocean.

WTD 40 plastic pieces from a turtle gut — This assortment of plastic was taken from the gut of a sub-adult Green Turtle from the Coral Sea and is made up of 40 pieces of soft plastic, 4 pieces of plastic thread and 6 pieces of hard plastic.

Plastic does not go away. It is extremely durable; a single use, plastic bottle can take centuries to break down. In doing so, it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces that are particularly hazardous to juvenile marine turtles which feed in surface waters and mistake floating plastic for food. This material can lead to gut blockages causing animals to starve and tiny pieces of plastic (microplastics), and the toxins they contain, are now passing through marine food chains.

WTD Nylon fishing line — This image is of nylon fishing line removed from the throat of a Loggerhead Turtle that was beach-washed dead on Deadman’s Beach, North Stradbroke Island in September 1990.

The Hatchery

Did you meet the baby turtles at the Hatchery during World Science Festival Brisbane? If you missed out, head to Facebook to watch them hatch here and see the little dudes released into the Australian Current, 20km offshore from the Sunshine Coast as part of the Museum’s conversation initiative here.

Queensland Museum Senior Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians, Patrick Couper, who oversees the World Science Festival Brisbane’s Turtle Hatchery, holding fibreglass casts of hatchling turtles (Green Turtle in left hand, Loggerhead in right hand).

Wild State highlights Queensland’s unique animals and habitats, focusing on five environments including teeming marine life. Explore how we can protect and preserve our precious natural world for future generations by stopping by the gallery on level 4.

Archaeology, Collection Management, Maritime History, Museum of Tropical Queensland

Well, that’s a pickle!

17 May, 2019 qldmuseum Leave a comment

Sometimes when working with the collections at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, you see an object that just makes you stop in your tracks. The object featured today is one that really made me stop and think. So what is it?

A bottle of pickled onions. Exciting, I know!

This bottle was manufactured by Nuttall & Co in Lancashire, England between 1873 and 1887. It was then transferred onto the Scottish Prince, where it would become part of the cargo travelling with passengers on the vessel from the United Kingdom to Australia in the late 19^th century.

On the 2^nd of February, 1887, the Scottish Prince was making the final stage of its journey under the command of William Little, sailing into Moreton Bay, Queensland. William Little left the ship that night, with a less-experienced Second Mate in charge of the vessel. Just before midnight, the Scottish Prince ran aground at the southern end of Stradbroke Island.

More than 60 years later in 1955, the ‘Under Water Research Group of Queensland’ discovered the wreck. The site was explored and, in many cases, pillaged by divers collecting souvenirs and scrap metal.

This bottle of pickled onions was uncovered from the Scottish Prince wreck in 1974, by Mr Elliott. He collected it before the implementation of the Historic Shipwreck Act in 1976, which enacted new regulations that protect historic shipwrecks in Commonwealth waters, and maintain their use for educational, recreational and scientific purposes. In 1993, an historic shipwreck amnesty was established which encouraged divers and other private collectors to declare their artefacts from shipwrecks older than 75 years, without charges being laid, in order for the Commonwealth to document and create a more complete understanding of the existing artefacts and heritage of Australian Maritime history.

Elliott declared this object at the time of the amnesty, and in 2017, donated the bottle of pickled onions to Museum of Tropical Queensland, where it became a valued addition to the Museum’s Maritime collection.

The bottle – with the lid still intact, and the onions inside still preserved – has lasted throughout its tumultuous history with almost no damage! Another interesting element is that the lid was made with a lead seal, which would have heavily contaminated the contents of the bottle had they ever been consumed. So no, even if we wanted to crack the bottle open, we couldn’t eat these pickled onions anymore! Created in the late 19^th century in the United Kingdom, and then remaining – untouched and undamaged – underwater for almost 70 years in Australian waters, this object has lived a very interesting life, and seen things we can only imagine.

Sophie Price, Assistant Curator Anthropology, Museum of Tropical Queensland