Shipwrecks of Western Australia

Over 1400 ships have been wrecked on the coast of Western Australia. This relatively large number of shipwrecks is due to a number of factors, including:

Most listings of the wrecks of Western Australia present them chronologically or group them into regions, areas or adjacent capes and coastal features, so as to divide the large number into manageable collections, thematic or regional studies. These groupings and individual data on each site can be seen in electronic databases and in a number of 'hard copy' works produced by a number of authors (e.g. the Australian Shipwrecks series, by Charles Bateson and then by Jack Loney appearing in both formats) and in focussing specifically on Western Australia, by the Department of Maritime Archaeology at the Western Australian Museum. Its CEO is charged with the responsibility of managing the wrecks lying offshore and in inland rivers and estuaries for both the State of Western Australia and the Commonwealth Government. A chronological listing of all known wrecks on the West Australian coast, for example, appears in the three volume 'Unfinished Voyages' Series produced by Graeme Henderson with the assistance of other authors. Sarah Kenderdine produced an analysis of the historic wrecks of the Metropolitan coast. WA Museum volunteers and Honorary Associates, Peter and Jill Worsley, together with David Totty produced an analysis of wrecks on the mid-west coast. Other databases produced by the WA Museum include its 'Strangers on the Shore' listing. This work produced by cultural heritage student Lesley Silvester assisted by Michael Murray appears in both hard copy and electronic form and it documents the many interactions between Indigenous people and shipwreck survivors. They landed bereft of the trappings of power that are normally associated with those arriving for exploration, trading or commerce, rendering the interaction doubly of importance in analysing indigenous reactions to 'foreign' presence on their shores. The Australian Netherlands Committee on old Dutch Shipwrecks (ANCODS) provides details specific to the Dutch East India Company ( VOC) ships lost on the coast, including database on the artefacts raised. The VOC Society is another group providing information on the Dutch wrecks on the coast. Though concentrating on the Dutch East India Company, it also produces regional listings providing information on many shipwrecks. e.g. In order to assist researchers in obtaining detailed information on many of the wrecks (other than that appearing in its books, articles and journal entries) the WA Museum has made all its unpublished departmental reports available in PDF form. These deal with a wide variety of shipwreck-related issues.

...
Wikipedia