Rediscovering HMS Pandora
1977
Steve Domm/John Heyer's and Ben Cropp's expeditions
In November 1977, the wreck of the Pandora was located-186 years after its loss. Its rediscovery-by Steve Domm, John Heyer and Ben Cropp-was the result of a methodological search based on analysis of historical information compiled by John Heyer. A magnetometer carried by an RAAF maritime reconnaissance aircraft initially indicated the approximate location of the wreck within Pandora Entrance. The exact location-near the spot where a flare had been dropped by the RAAF Neptune-was discovered the next day by Ron Bell, one of the divers on Ben Cropp's expedition vessel.*
1979
Western Australian Maritime Museum survey
A survey to confirm the identity of the wreck and assess its archaeological potential was commissioned in April 1979 by the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs and Environment. The archaeologist who conducted the survey was Graeme Henderson, accompanied by photographer Patrick Baker, both from the Western Australian Maritime Museum (WAMM).
Rudder fittings, retrieved from the wreck by the finders in November 1977, had been sent to the WAMM's Fremantle laboratory for conservation and investigation. One of these fittings-a pintle-was found to be marked with a series of dots punched onto the surface in the form of the number "24". It also had the name "FORBES" embossed on it, in addition to a broad arrow, indicating the property of the British government.
These were the most positive clues that the wreck was a Royal Navy vessel of the Pandora's size-a 24 gun frigate. Archival information subsequently provided additional confirmation, as a foundry operated by William Forbes was documented as a supplier of fittings to the yard in Deptford where the Pandora was built. The evidence was conclusive-the wreck was definitely HMS Pandora.
After the 1979 survey, WAMM's photographer Patrick Baker compiled a photomosaic of the site. By analysing the distribution of objects shown in the mosaic, Graeme Henderson concluded that the wreck had been intact after it had settled on the seabed. Clearly it had suffered some disintegration since. Nevertheless, Henderson surmised that it would be the most intact 18th century wreck in Australian waters.
Click to enlarge.
The Pandora wreck was considered to have substantial archaeological potential. Because its location had become generally known, additional protection was invoked in 1981 through Section 7 of the Historic Shipwrecks Act, 1976. Since then, a permit has been required to enter the protected zone created around the wreck.
The Queensland Museum's involvement with the Pandora wreck did not begin until the Museum's director was appointed the Commonwealth Minister's Queensland delegate under the Historic Shipwrecks Act.
In 1982, a Maritime Archaeology section was formally set up at the Queensland Museum, with the appointment of senior exhibition designer Ron Coleman as Curator of Maritime Archaeology. This marked the beginning of a maritime archaeology program in Queensland. The Pandora wreck would figure prominently in this program.