Doing Maritime Archaeology in Australia

Abstract

Maritime archaeology encompasses more than just shipwrecks; it also includes the many land-based activities associated with maritime industry and trade, such as whaling stations, docks, jetties and shipyards, the intangible record (for instance oral histories), as well as the material vestiges of maritime lifestyles. It can incorporate ports and the various services that support maritime activities, such as lighthouses and warehouses, as well as the domestic sites associated with the people who lived and worked in these places. Inland waters and the material traces they contain are also part of maritime archaeology. For example, the Murray River, a major waterway which in part forms the boundary between NSW and Victoria and runs into South Australia, has a 19th century drydock, several historic port towns, and the fully conserved 105 year old paddle steamer, PS Marion, as well as wrecks of many other paddle steamers and barges along its length. Even the remains of the relatively recent past, such as sunken wartime relics, can become the responsibility of maritime archaeologists.