Foam
Details
Year Built: 1882 (as Archimedes)
Built: Isle of Wight, England
Description of Ship: The Foam was a 164 ton timber schooner.
Length: 100 feet 1 inch (30.4 meters)
Breadth: 22 feet 8 inches (6.8 meters)
Depth: 11 feet (3.3 meters)
Location of Shipwreck: Myrmidon Reef, Great Barrier Reef
History
In 1884, the Archimedes sailed to Melbourne where she was sold and subsequently transferred to Maryborough to operate in the Queensland ‘labour trade‘. Between 1863 and 1904, over 70 vessels were involved in transporting approximately 60 000 South Sea Islanders to work the Queensland sugar cane fields.
Active in Queensland from about 1888, when she delivered 81 Islanders to Mackay as the Archimedes, the vessel was renamed the Foam by her new owners in 1892. The licence issued to the Foam in 1892 authorised her to carry up to 120 Islander labour recruits per voyage.
Due to the suicide of the Foam‘s Government Agent, her final voyage was delayed, causing the loss of a lucrative contract to recruit a full complement of 120 Islanders. After the appointment of a replacement Government Agent, the Foam took on board 81 returning Solomon Islanders at Dungeness and eventually departed for the Solomon Islands at 6 am on 5 January 1893 under the command of Gilbert Norman.. By 8:30 pm the Foam was stuck fast on Myrmidon Reef. Captain Norman‘s firsthand account reveals that, after departing Dungeness, a course was set for the Palm‘s Passage via Bramble, Rip, and Leaf reefs. At about 8:30 pm, the Foam struck Myrmidon Reef at the eastern end of the Palm‘s Passage. She started to take in water at a rate of 6 inches (15 cm) every 5 minutes. The Islanders were placed in the boats and a raft was constructed from the ship‘s spars to accommodate the number of people for whom there was insufficient space in the boats. A single boat containing 10 Islanders and the Foam‘s mate Mr Burns was launched which made it back to Townsville on 7th January and reported the loss. The remaining crew and the passengers were rescued by the steamer Christina Gollan on 8th January after 2 days on the reef.
By this time, the Foam was doomed. She was well up on the reef on her stern with two thirds of the hull underwater at low tide. A Marine Board of Enquiry was held in Townsville on 15th February 1893 and found that an uncharted southerly current of 3 - 3½ knots had carried the Foam onto the reef. With a Customs Officer on board, the Christina Gollan made a salvage trip to the wreck site on 17th February, 1893. They found that the port side of the Foam was completely broken up and that trade goods and ship‘s stores were scattered over the reef and into the adjacent deep water. The main mast was saved as were two anchors, a pair of davits, all of the sails, and a large quantity of chain and rope. Because they had been unable to save their ‘trade boxes‘, all of the returning Islanders rescued from the Foam were re-engaged for several more years to work on the Ashburton plantation near Mackay.
The wreck of the Foam was re-discovered in May 1982, after a 2.5 metre Admiralty pattern anchor was found on the south western side of Myrmidon Reef, approximately 400m from the wreck site. Chain ran from the anchor in the exact direction of the wreck. The wreck was confirmed as being that of the Foam by Queensland Museum maritime archaeologists and subsequently protected under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 on 14th January 1983.
Dive the Foam
The following information is based on personal experience. Always check with authorities about local conditions before diving.
Diving Accessibility Rating: Easy
Diving Highlight: Prolific coral growth
Best Diving Season: Winter months
Max depth: 10 meters
WGS84 Location: S 18 16’12.0" E 147 22’58.2"
Permits
Required. An area with a radius of 50m, centred at the intersection of latitude 18.2722º S, longitude 147.3861º E is declared a protected zone under Section 7 of the Commonwealth's Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 [external link, opens in new window]. Permits are required to enter this zone.
Download a sketch of the Foam dive site. PDF 82 KB