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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
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Bills

Historic Shipwrecks (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 14 February 2017.)

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (12:01): I rise to support the amendment bill in relation to historic shipwrecks. The original act was dated 1981, and the intention of the amendments to this act are to bring it in line with current-day practices, and also keep in mind the current-day situation, particularly in relation to how popular these historic shipwrecks have become with recreational divers.

What is a historic shipwreck? Any wreck in South Australian waters that is 75 years old is automatically protected under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1981. Under this act, significant shipwrecks and their relics are protected to prohibit the removal of or damage to these sites. Around 270 historic shipwrecks have been declared under the act in South Australia. Depending on where the information is coming from, there are between 400 and 800 shipwrecks in total around South Australia.

The remains of these shipwrecks are important educational, recreational and tourism assets. As such, people are encouraged to visit them on a 'look but don't interfere' basis. In 1976, the commonwealth government acknowledged the need to protect significant shipwreck sites and relics with the introduction of the commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act for commonwealth waters extending from the low-water mark to the edge of the continental shelf. Complementary South Australian legislation followed a few years later, with the South Australian Historic Shipwrecks Act 1981. The primary intention of the act is to protect certain shipwrecks and relics of historical significance.

The amendments are being proposed to this act because the Offshore Ardrossan Marine Park Sanctuary Zone has been an area of focus since the fishing restrictions commenced. We all remember how passionately the sanctuary zones were debated in this place. As well as the sanctuary zone, the area immediately around the old wreck of the historic shipwreck Zanoni is a protected zone under the act. This zone protects the 135-year-old wreck, which is the most complete 19th century merchant vessel shipwreck in South Australia, and potentially in all Australia.

Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent claim most of the shipwrecks in South Australia, with Kangaroo Island of no less significance. I note the deputy leader spoke yesterday with some passion and knowledge about the wrecks around Kangaroo Island. Many hundreds of vessels have been lost since the appropriately named South Australian was blown ashore in a gale in 1837—in fact, it was just the second year of settlement of this colony. I will speak later in this contribution about one wreck that was even prior to that.

The inlet and river discovered in 1831 became the site for the city of Adelaide and, within a few years, was accepting vessels of up to 500 tonnes. It was a busy little port down there at Port Adelaide; it quickly became quite busy. The prosperous cultivation of wheat and other grains on the Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas in the 1870s saw the construction of several huge jetties—and, I might add, many smaller ones—in the gulfs and on the West Coast to provide access for grain ships to load their valuable cargo for English and Australian ports.

Several of these 1,000 tonne plus sailing vessels were lost, some off Wardang Island in Spencer Gulf. These sailing ships took grain from South Australian ports primarily to Great Britain right up until World War II; in fact, a couple of vessels sailed from Port Victoria on Yorke Peninsula as late as 1946, before the engine age finally took over.

South Australia has more than 800 shipwrecks along its coastal and inland waters, and the first recorded wreck—and I want to relate this back to my own electorate now—occurred when Matthew Flinders charted the coastline in 1802. It was not Flinders' vessel Investigator, the very famous vessel he used to quite accurately chart the South Australian coastline, but rather the small cutter used by a landing party, which fell prey to unpredictable surf at the tip of Eyre Peninsula. Eight offshore islands now bear the names of the seamen lost.

On 20 February 1802, Investigator met a north-east running tide, causing great discussion on board as many thought this to be an indication of proximity to a passage through the continent to the Gulf of Carpentaria, as there were unsubstantiated reports of a ship sailing through such a passage. They were at the mouth of Spencer Gulf and, being uncharted, they were hopeful they would find a way through the continent. Ultimately they sailed north and charted the gulf and came, of course, to the site near where Port Augusta is now and discovered, probably with some disappointment, that it was not a navigable passage through Australia at all but, rather, a gulf.

Weighing anchor there was also a pressing need to top up dwindling stocks of freshwater, and Flinders' daily log gives us an excellent insight into the tragic events after he sent his trusted ship's master to search for water. This story has gone into folklore in South Australia and, more particularly, into Eyre Peninsula's history. I quote from the log of Sunday 21 February 1802:

Mr Thistle was sent over with a cutter to the main land, in search of an anchoring place where water may be procured...at dusk in the evening the cutter was seen returning from the mainland; but not arriving in half an hour, and the sight of it having been lost, a light was shown and lieutenant Fowler was sent in a boat...returned soon afterward but alone.

Sadly, those men were lost. It was not unusual for seamen of this era to be poor swimmers, many believing a swift death in any catastrophe would be a blessing. Reading from the log again:

...no more than two out of the eight people being at all expert in swimming, it was much feared that most of them would be lost.

With night falling, there was little that could be done, but in the morning the search continued, without any success.

The area was named by Flinders Cape Catastrophe, even though the search continued along the shore. Observation of sharks nearby—so nothing has changed there—and a 'strong rippling of tide', which almost capsized another cutter, suggested this was how the lost crew had met their fate. The need for Flinders to take on water became ever more pressing and so, with the obvious loss of the crewmen, he decided to continue his voyage on 24 February. That is 215 years ago, and in the next few weeks we will be very proudly unveiling a statue of Matthew Flinders on the foreshore area of Port Lincoln. I will speak more about that in this parliament at a later date.

Before departing, the crew went ashore one more time to an area Flinders named Memory Cove. Here, in the words of Peter Good (a seaman on the ship), he 'caused to be fixed on shore a plate of copper commemorating this melancholy and disastrous event'. That plaque, which is now on display in the South Australian Maritime Museum at Port Adelaide, read:

Memory Cove

His Majesty's ship Investigator—Matthew Flinders, Commander—anchored here Feb 22 1802

Mr John Thistle…Mr William Taylor…and six of the crew unfortunately drowned near this place from being upset in a boat. The wreck of the boat was found but their bodies were not recovered.

Before leaving Cape Catastrophe, Flinders ensured that nearby islands were named in tribute to each individual sailor lost: Thistle, Taylor, Smith, Lewis, Grindal, Little, Hopkins and Williams. This is rather a tragic story from the very earliest days of European exploration and settlement in South Australian waters. I wanted to relate that particular story from my electorate and relate it to this act that is dealing with historic shipwrecks. The amendments essentially bring the act into line with current day expectations.

From recent prosecutions, it has become apparent that existing compliance provisions and penalties under the Historic Shipwrecks Act are outdated and have not been renewed since the act came into operation in 1981. This amendment provides that opportunity. The government recognises the importance of South Australia's shipwrecks, as we all do, and anticipates that increasing penalty amounts will help to deter illegal activity, which will help to safeguard and preserve historic shipwrecks for future generations.

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (12:11): I rise to support the Historic Shipwrecks (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2016 to better protect South Australian shipwrecks and relics of historic importance. The act was originally introduced in 1981 to protect South Australian shipwrecks and their relics from removal, damage and exploitation. Currently, any wreck in South Australian waters which is at least 75 years old is automatically classified as 'historic' and protected under the act. The minister may also make a declaration regarding a shipwreck that is less than 75 years of age.

With the South-East having such a rugged coastline, places like Danger Point and Carpenter Rocks have seen many ships meet their fate along the bottom part of South Australia. It is estimated that there are over 800 shipwrecks across the South Australian coastline with many never having been located. I want to talk about a couple of shipwrecks and mention Carl von Stanke. Carl is a 19-year-old Mount Gambier resident. His dad, Gary von Stanke, is a resident of Port MacDonnell. Carl has a keen interest in shipwrecks and has been a diver since the age of 11. Quite recently, he found the wreck of the Flying Cloud which had been under water for 147 years.

I want to congratulate Carl on his enjoyment of diving as well as on the extensive amount of research that would need to go into uncovering some of these wrecks. In Carl's words, it is a 'combination of extensive research but also good luck and good weather' which makes it possible. Carl has also found other wrecks in the area. I think he has found four ships, including the Corio and the Hawthorn. He has dived on the Admella and, recently, the Flying Cloud.

Our most famous story is about the Admella. The wreck of the SS Admella in the early hours of 6 August 1859 was only the beginning of an horrific week for the survivors who remained on board. They were in sight of land, but authorities struggled to rescue them from the stricken steamer. The loss of 89 lives, mostly due to cold and exposure, makes the wreck one of the worst maritime disasters in Australian history. It was the first major rescue incident that involved the cooperation of a large number of organisations and individuals across the newly formed colonies of Victoria and South Australia. In many ways, it was the basis of joining together these isolated communities into a regional group. It was the beginning of many ongoing organisations across the south-east of Australia.

The Admella was sailing from Adelaide to Melbourne when it struck Carpenters Reef on the southern coastline of South Australia. A design fault in its iron hull caused the ship to break into three after only 15 minutes, leaving passengers and crew clinging to the wreckage with minimal food and water. Early attempts to reach land were fruitless. People were swept out to sea or drowned in the boiling surf. It was nearly two days later, when two seamen, Knapman and Leach, made it to shore and walked 20 miles to the Cape Northumberland lighthouse to raise the alarm.

The lighthouse was without telegraph, so the lighthouse keeper, Mr Germein, whose own horse had died just a few days earlier, had to trek to a nearby farm to borrow a horse in order to reach Mount Gambier to inform authorities in Adelaide (450 kilometres away) and Portland (150 kilometres to the west). The Corio left from Adelaide and the Ladybird from Portland, but due to poor information, both rescue vessels had difficulty locating the now desperate Admella.

Meanwhile, the wreck was battered by heavy swell. Captain McEwan shared out what little food remained and had to prevent survivors from drinking salt water, which had begun to take the lives of those who drank it. Others, exhausted by their ordeal, simply slipped into the sea to their death. In the words of one lifeboat captain, they were:

...more like statues than human beings; their eyes fixed, their lips black, for want of water, and their limbs bleached white and swollen through exposure to the relentless surf.

In Adelaide, the news of the disaster brought hundreds of people to the telegraph office to hear the story as it unfolded, and both houses of parliament were adjourned. With that story, I will conclude my remarks and commend the bill to the house.

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (12:17): I delight in rising to talk on the Historic Shipwrecks (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2016, which is obviously an important bill that has been introduced to better protect South Australia's shipwrecks and relics of historic significance. It is something that I am obviously interested in, given the electorate of Kaurna, which I represent, contains quite a lot of Adelaide's coastline, where there is a number of shipwrecks. In fact, the Kaurna electorate is home to several protected wrecks, namely the Glenelg, Solace, Tigress, Nashwauk, Maid of the Valley, Star of Greece, Albatross and the Maid of the Mill, which was wrecked in the Onkaparinga River. All these shipwrecks of course have a story to tell. Each reveals something different about who we were then and thus who we are today.

While the maritime industry has always been recognised for its role in our commercial and trading history, it is also crucial in understanding our social history. I will just touch on a couple of the shipwrecks in the Kaurna electorate. One of the most famous is the Nashwauk, which was shipwrecked south of the Onkaparinga River. It is now a very heavily associated with the Moana area, where there is a Nashwauk Terrace. The Moana Pioneers Hall has a dedication to the Nashwauk at the front, which the community centre lovingly put there recently.

The Nashwauk was shipwrecked in 1855. It was an immigrant ship that I understand was carrying some 300 of the 4,000 Irish women who migrated to South Australia in the 1850s. Obviously, it is an important part of that migration story to South Australia as well. The ship was wrecked south of the Onkaparinga, and luckily its passengers were rescued. I understand that they were taken to what was then the township of Noarlunga (now Old Noarlunga), and the Horseshoe Inn (now the Old Noarlunga Hotel), and they were cared for there.

I understand there are quite a lot of different stories about what exactly happened to the Nashwauk and a number of different conjectures as to whether or not it was because of smugglers, drunkenness aboard the ship, or misleading shore lights that ran the vessel aground. However, I understand the official conclusion was:

The Nashwauk was wrecked on the coast near the mouth of the Onkaparinga on the 13th of May. All the immigrants were safely landed and taken to the township of Noarlunga, from which place some were taken by the steamer Melbourne to Port Adelaide, and some [went] overland in drays to Adelaide.

An investigation was ordered by his Excellency the Officer Administrating the Government into the treatment of the people by the master and surgeon-superintendent of the ship. The Immigration Board sat for this purpose on the 2nd June when it appeared to the Board that there was no foundation for any complaints against the surgeon-superintendent during the voyage. The Board was adjourned until the following Tuesday on purpose to investigate conduct of the master of the ship, but the information having in the interval been received that he had died in Adelaide, the inquiry of course was terminated.

Of course, that was the official reading of it, and I understand that all the passengers made it safely to shore. The women and children were taken to the Horsehoe Inn, where fires were lit, straw was spread as bedding and the locals slaughtered and roasted eight sheep to feed the distressed. On the following day, the passengers were assembled in the market square of Noarlunga, which is still there today in Old Noarlunga, to be advised that the Thomas Melbourne was to convey them to Port Adelaide.

They returned to the beach to make the boarding but, due to rough seas, the decision was made to sail the Melbourne to the mouth of the Onkaparinga, thereby forcing the assembled passengers to make the four-kilometre trek along the clifftops from Harriott's Creek, where they assembled at Gray's store. By this point, it was dark and only 70 of the passengers were willing to make the attempt to board.

Obviously, this is one of the significant shipwrecks in my area. Because this is a significant part of South Australia's maritime history, we know that many of the Irish migrants, who were predominantly women, settled here and went on to get married and have children, and many descendants of the women who were on the Nashwauk still live in South Australia today. So, it is an important story for the descendants of those people who were on that ship.

The other significant area in my electorate that is home to many shipwrecks is, of course, Port Willunga. The most famous of those is the Star of Greece, which is also the name of a very good and very popular restaurant at Port Willunga with an incredible view. I highly recommend it to everybody in the parliament to go and visit.

The Hon. T.R. Kenyon: Do you have a view of the wreck as well?

Mr PICTON: I believe you can, if the tide is right. As the member for Newland says, you can see the wreck as well from the Star of Greece. The Star of Greece wrecked off Port Willunga 125 years ago and lies within the Encounter Marine Park. It is a visually iconic part of the South Australian coastal landscape and a very accessible snorkelling and scuba-diving site.

This was a cargo ship that was wrecked across the South Australian coast and, very sadly, 18 sailors lost their lives as part of this shipwreck, so it was really quite a tragedy for the young colony at that time. While this is now part of metropolitan Adelaide, at that time Port Willunga was very far away from settlements, and part of the issue was that it took a very long time for help to get those who were distressed as part of the tragedy.

I am told that only 200 metres away from shore the ship broke in two at 2am. An alarm was raised at 7.20am by a young boy taking his morning walk. The Willunga telegraph station, which was therefore required to send for help, did not open until 9am, so it was not until then that help could be contacted.

The Hon. T.R. Kenyon: Good old government bureaucracy.

Mr PICTON: Yes, it would have been good if the opening hours were longer. This is, of course, something we would love for Australia Post today. Even with the 9am help being made through the government bureaucracy at the time, it was not until 4am that useful help had arrived. By that time, all the survivors were ashore and others who were aboard had already drowned in the roaring surf. It is really quite a tragedy that probably more people could have been saved if help had arrived sooner or if people could have been alerted sooner of what had happened.

Local residents did their best to assist and took people to the nearby beach. I understand that the then hotel in the Port Willunga area was used to look after survivors. I have a historic picture of that hotel, which is now a private residence, in my Parliament House office at the moment. It is a very tragic event that happened in South Australia's history, and I understand that newspapers and the media were highly critical of the marine board and its rescue operations. The later coronial inquest was equally damning of what had occurred.

This is obviously an important site that needs to be remembered, and it is used by people as a great snorkelling area. The government has established a number of trails and signs marking the Star of Greece wreck along Port Willunga so that we can better understand what occurred there, which is really what this bill is about—trying to make sure that we better protect our historic shipwrecks right along the coast.

I know that people in my electorate will be very glad that this is happening to protect all those shipwrecks, some of which have not yet been found. We want to make sure that they are all protected for the future as important historic sites so that future generations can still remember what occurred in those times. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (12:26): I would like to make a small contribution and speak on the Historic Shipwrecks (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill, which will further help protect South Australia's shipwrecks and relics of historic importance. The reason I am making a contribution is that I have had the pleasure of diving on some of South Australia's historic wrecks and it is a great experience.

We have seen a number of the wrecks taken advantage of. Sadly, we see people who prey on anything of value, anything of significance or anything that can be an artefact associated with these historic wrecks. We have to also understand that there are many other ocean-going vessels that have been sunk, whether on purpose or through nature—through fire or storm. This has shown us that the waterways take no prisoners when it comes to ships in distress.

I have noticed over time that historic shipwrecks that have sunk in the ocean are protected by the ocean because they sink—and that is what preserves them, compared with a lot of the historic waterway wrecks in the River Murray, which in many cases have sunk primarily through fire or snags. Many have sat on the bottom of the river but are still partially exposed, and that has meant they have not been preserved as well over time and become part of a long history.

As has already been stated, about 800 wrecks in South Australian waters are listed as historic. The development of scuba diving equipment in the fifties led to the discovery of more shipwrecks and gave people the opportunity to understand exactly what those wrecks were and what state they were in, but it also gave people doing the wrong thing the opportunity to exploit them and the wrecks were pillaged for souvenirs. Some of them were blown apart to make way for other boats to proceed. That has been an issue of significant concern.

South Australia currently has two protected zones: one for a recreational dive site, the HMAS Hobart; and one for the Zanoni, a 135-year-old vessel, which is the most complete 19th century merchant shipwreck in South Australia. The HMAS Hobart is a decommissioned Navy destroyer that was sunk off Yankalilla in 2002 as a dive wreck and an artificial reef. In relation to the artificial reefs, I would like to see diving on an historic shipwreck or being allowed to dive on an historic shipwreck—and those divers do that with proper care and due diligence—be seen as one of the great adventures of our waterways. Sadly, however, people who do the wrong thing are the people who make some of these shipwrecks outlawed to dive on.

I know sanctuary zones and marine parks also add a layer of complexity around being able to dive in certain areas. A permit is required to enter these zones, either by vessel or by other means. Historic shipwrecks are very old and delicate, so simply dropping an anchor can cause damage. I have seen it happen on screens where anchors hook up on shipwrecks or other underwater structures, and that causes huge amounts of damage. With the responsible use of technology nowadays, you can see the anchor when you drop it and you can see your ropes and chains. If people are anchoring anywhere near structures, they should use that sort of technology so that they do not ruin the opportunity for the next person who is going to come along.

The introduction of marine park sanctuary zones has made government departments more aware of illegal activities, particularly around fishing. It is pretty widely known that any structure at the bottom of our ocean creates a safe haven for fish habitat, and that also attracts people with fishing rods, fishing lines and the like to take on what every man, woman and child loves to do, and that is to catch fish. Last year, a Seacliff Park man was fined $200 in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court for entering the HMAS Hobart exclusion zone in Yankalilla without the required permit.

This amendment to the bill will strengthen that requirement and ensure that people are given the appropriate fines for what could be perceived as wrecking part of our history that can never be repaired and never be reinstated. The amendments include increasing penalties, introducing more expiation fees, increasing current expiation fees, amendments to the power of authorised officers, administrative changes to enable the minister to transition classifications to the declarations of those historic shipwrecks, amendments to be able to delegate powers and also to register those shipwrecks.

On the issue of authorised officers, it is all very well for governments to introduce increased penalties, to increase fines and to put in more regulation and red tape around these sites, but are we going to implement more compliance officers? Are we going to give more people the power to actually enforce these new laws? That is something that will be of interest to me. I do support any regulation to crack down on those who are noncomplying. As we get older, so do the shipwreck sites. They need further protection so that we can have them as part of our history and so that our children, their children and future generations, can experience the grandeur of these shipwrecks on the bottom of our ocean.

It is interesting to know that there are many river vessels in my electorate of Chaffey on the great River Murray that are also of significance. In the Riverland, one of the paddle-steamers, the William R Randell, sank near Waikerie. This wreck is also protected under the act. It sank in 1939 due to flood conditions. Looking further into listed historic wrecks in the electorate, there are also the two Chowilla iron ferries that were used to barge both livestock and supplies through the Chowilla water network.

The paddle-steamer Bunyip was built in Mannum and lost in 1866 after a fire near Chowilla Station. As they were steam driven, many of these river vessels did catch on fire. Sadly, with the way things used to be, a lot of river vessels caught fire and sank to the floor of the river. Another river vessel still exposed is the Jessie, a barge built in Echuca and lost in 1877 after it caught on a snag under tow and sank at Woolenook Bend just north of Renmark, and you can see parts of it close to the bank. Another barge is the Wardell, which was abandoned and sank in 1959 in the Millewa Creek.

The Albermarle, a barge built in Goolwa, was lost in 1932 at the Millewa Creek entrance. It was abandoned 54 miles upstream from Lock 5 in 1931. It is believed that it was sunk while being moored and wrecked at Renmark. The Jolly Miller was a paddle-steamer built at Goolwa and lost in 1944 after being wrecked near the Pyap pump station. We have quite a well-known paddleboat, the Canally, built in 1907 at Echuca. Its primary use was to cart wool out of Echuca up through the Murrumbidgee river system. It was then brought into private hands and used for construction, building the locks and weirs right up and down the Murray River in South Australia. I understand that it now resides at Morgan, having been taken to Berri to be restored and repaired. It is now under the ownership of the Mid Murray Council.

There are a lot of historic vessels and structures still intact both in our oceans and in our inland waterways that need to be protected. I stress to anyone who has the opportunity to dive on a structure, shipwreck or any form of a water vessel to have a go. Go down and have a look because it is about looking not only at the shipwreck but also at the habitat that survives and lives in and around it—and some of them are truly spectacular. In most instances, it really is a great life experience. Without further ado, I support the amendments to this bill.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (12:38): I, too, rise today to say a few words about the Historic Shipwrecks (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2016. I do so because I come from a community with a proud history of shipping and also of shipbuilding—namely, Whyalla. As members are aware, there are two ports: one at Whyalla and one at Port Bonython. They are major shipping ports in this state. I believe that the inner harbour and the outer harbour at Whyalla are probably the largest port in South Australia by tonnage. Of course, at Port Bonython we have the gas fractionation plant and the hydrocarbon export facility.

One of the interesting things is that in contemporary times, from the start of these particular ports in the Upper Spencer Gulf, the Northern Spencer Gulf and further down the gulf, none of those vessels has met tragic circumstances. The vessels that have sunk in the Northern Spencer Gulf have been ones that largely predate the 1900s—so, the ketches, the barques and the launches and a number of other vessels—but they are not great in number compared with those in the rest of the state.

Some members have open ocean systems in their electorate. As people are aware, Spencer Gulf is an inverse estuary, and the further north you go, the more tranquil the waters become, not that the areas south of Point Lowly (Ward's Spit) are not stormy at times in a tricky way, because the amplitude of the waves is different from the open ocean environment. Fortunately, not many vessels have gone down in that part of the world and, as I said, the ones that did largely predate the 20th century.

A number of vessels that have a connection with Whyalla have been sunk. The initial vessels that serviced Whyalla came from Port Pirie to collect the iron ore mined at Iron Knob—there was a jetty at the foot of Hummock Hill—and that iron ore was sent over to Port Pirie to be used as flux in the smelters in those early days. Importantly, vessels came over from Port Pirie transporting water to Whyalla. Whyalla being a semi-arid environment, there was little in the way of water, and that used to happen until a desalination plant was built in Whyalla to supply water and then subsequently the pipelines from the River Murray.

During the war years, Whyalla was turned into a shipbuilding port. A number of their vessels that were built in Whyalla saw service around New Guinea and elsewhere. The first vessel, HMAS Whyalla, did duty when it came to mines, both laying mines and protecting our ships from mines. Members are aware that the Whyalla now stands proudly on the highway from Port Augusta to Whyalla, adjacent to the steelworks, and that nearly became a wreck because a lot of people in Whyalla thought we could save a lot of money by getting the Whyalla back, sinking it and turning it into a snapper wreck. I think some sense prevailed because we now have an important piece of tourism infrastructure that reflects a very important part of our history.

The Whyalla was not sunk during the Second World War obviously, but a number of vessels that serviced Whyalla in those days were sunk. They took iron ore from the blast furnace to the Eastern States as part of that war effort to be turned into steel to be used in armaments. Those vessels that plied the waters between Whyalla and the Eastern States were sunk. The Iron Knight, the Iron Chieftain, the Iron Crown and a number of other vessels were sunk off the eastern coast of New South Wales with a tragic loss of life.

Indeed, the merchant seamen refer to those iron ore vessels as death ships. Most of them were sunk by submarines, and they sank very quickly. The seamen's union estimates that about 12 per cent of Australia's merchant seamen died during the Second World War. The official record indicates about 5 per cent, but there is significant conjecture because a lot of it was covered in secrecy at the time for various reasons.

None of those vessels sank in the Spencer Gulf, so I am drawing a very long bow there. As a child, I came out to Australia, following the route of a lot of the vessels that brought people and goods to South Australia in the 19th century, going from Britain, around the Cape of Good Hope to Adelaide. A number of those vessels sank in tragic circumstances. Fortunately, the Northern Spencer Gulf does not have that tragedy or that drama when it comes to the vessels that have sunk in our waters, so that is a good thing.

However, a number of vessels did sink. I will put on record some of the ones I was able to find. The Angler sank in 1939 after breaking up during a gale, and that was to the north of Whyalla and to the north of Point Lowly. That particular vessel was a launch. The Apollo was an iron-hulled barque of over 1,000 tonnes, built in 1884. That also sank in the waters north of Point Lowly. There was also the Alpha, which was a cutter, a wooden vessel of 12 tonnes built in 1879, which was lost in 1921. Its ultimate resting place is uncertain.

Another vessel was the James and Margaret, a cutter that was lost in 1878 as a result of a cooking fire that spread to some paper. That was not in my electorate; it was across in the member for Frome's electorate, at Telowie Beach. That vessel was completely lost. The Mary Ann was a cutter, also a wooden vessel, that was lost in 1885. It sprang a leak in 11 fathoms of water, but I do not think there was any loss of life there. I reckon it might have been one of the vessels that serviced an area called Murninnie, which has an interesting history. It is just a little fishing shack community these days. I think the former member for Giles has a shack down that way.

Murninnie used to be serviced once upon a time by the Chinese coming to get sandalwood from the area, and I think there are actually graves of some Chinese people who were lost in those days. To the west of the of Murninnie, up in the escarpment, there was a bismuth mine. That would have been a real challenge in those days. There were quite extensive diggings with shafts and tunnels. That mine operated for a few years, and the product was shipped out at Murninnie, as far as I know. So the Mary Ann sank off Murninnie.

One vessel that sank almost directly at Whyalla was something referred to as Mo 38, but there is absolutely no information about that. I imagine it would have been one of those little vessels that just did work around the port of Whyalla that ended up ultimately being lost. Mention has been made on a number of occasions during some of the speeches opposite about the Hobart to the south of Adelaide, a destroyer that was sunk as a dive wreck. I am a great fan of getting some more of these dive wrecks in South Australia.

Last year, I encouraged the Premier to put in a formal expression of interest for the Tobruk and the Sydney, which had been decommissioned. We did, as a state, put in a formal expression of interest in those vessels. I went to Sydney with a couple of people from DSD and a company with a history of sinking these ships, to a look at the Tobruk and the Sydney to see if we could secure one of those vessels for the north of Whyalla, specifically north of Point Lowly.

The advantage would have been not just a dive wreck, but a dive wreck that would have been far more accessible than the Hobart. So we went over, and I have to congratulate the Navy on the way that was all handled in an incredibly professional and detailed way. At the end of that process, we thought the Sydney would be the better of the two vessels because it could be modified to fit into the depth of water that we had north of Point Lowly.

Unfortunately, the price tag was something like $8.5 million. I can fully understand it not being the responsibility of Defence, but it would make these processes easier if the commonwealth government came to the party in a more fulsome way. If no state wants to secure one of these vessels, they will be taken away to be shipwrecked either, as in the Sydney's case, back to the United states or, in all probability, as with the Tobruk, to India. It is an incredibly irresponsible way of wrecking our vessels.

The price tag and all the unresolved risks we had to address in a very short period of time meant that we did not secure that vessel. I think it is something that we should really look at in the future. We need to do the preliminary work as a state to reduce some of the risks involved, because I think it would make a fantastic dive attraction north of Point Lowly and would fit in well with the cuttlefish aggregation and a number of other interesting dive sites around Whyalla. With those few words, I commend this bill.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Minister, are there any shipwrecks in your area that you want to talk about?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills) (12:51): I think some people were trying to include Clipper Ship City of Adelaide, but there is indeed a graveyard of ships around Torrens Island, and people can see them—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: But not for today.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: Not for today. Thank you for bringing me back to the matter at hand. I thank the honourable members who have provided input into the discussion on this bill. In fact, I have learned quite a lot by listening to people. Some excellent research has been done and a great deal of passion and interest has been shown about shipwrecks. This bill is about being able to better protect our shipwrecks and relics of historical significance.

I would also like to reiterate that encouraging support was received throughout the consultation process that occurred in relation to the proposed amendments. The government invited submissions from the community, stakeholders and relevant state and commonwealth government agencies. Feedback was received during the five-week consultation period held across May and June last year, and it has been documented in a report that has since been made available via the government's YourSAy website.

The proposed amendments to the Historic Shipwrecks Act aim to make the operation of the act more effective and efficient, thereby ensuring South Australia is well placed to protect its important historic shipwrecks and relics. Shipwrecks, including their relics, are a non-renewable resource by definition and must therefore be protected for future generations. I commend the bill to members.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills) (12:53): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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