Further to Some of the Anchors from HMS Sirius, when some of the details were posted on our Facebook page, Tim Smith pointed out that his paper titled “Old Pattern Admiralty Long Shanked Anchor, North Head, Sydney – Conservation Management Plan” (2000) included some references to the anchors from HMS Sirius.
The report prepared by Tim was published by NSW Heritage. I found some parts of the 38-page report helpful, including the appendix which was a list of anchor terminology.
Several of the people mentioned in “The Wreck of the Sirius” by Graeme Henderson in the Jan-March 1993 issue of Australian Geographic journal, are also mentioned in Tim’s paper, including the bibliography.
Jon Carpenter, Graeme Henderson, Bill Jeffery, Geoff Kimpton and Myra Stanbury are all listed in the bibliography. Only Jon, Geoff and Myra are listed in regard to the Sirius though.
Jon wrote “Conservation of an anchor from the wreck site of HMS Sirius (1790), Norfolk Island” (1986). Geoff wrote “Construction of replica anchor stocks and a carronade carriage for display of artefacts from HMS Sirius” (1992). Myra wrote “HMS Sirius 1790: An illustrated catalogue of artefact recovered from the wreck site at Norfolk Island” (1994).
Some of the details about the Sirius in Tim’s report include:
“When studying the group of five anchors from the wreck of HMS Sirius (1790), Stanbury noted several differences between the group. Whereas the generally accepted angle formed by the arm to the shank was 60° for the type, one of the Sirius bowers had differing angles of c.52° and 58° on the same anchor (SI 57). Another of the bowers (NI 20) did not conform to the standard. Other variations were noted in the length of shanks and thickness of component elements.”
“A number of wooden stocked Old Plan anchors have been recovered from the Sirius wreck site and are on public display. They include those at Norfolk Island Museum, Kingston, Macquarie Place, Sydney, the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, and others retained on site. All are of the Old Plan type and have been examined in detail by the Western Australian Maritime Museum (Stanbury, 1994). No complete wooden stocks have survived on these anchors.
“The first anchor was recovered in 1905 and is now located in Macquarie Place, Sydney. This anchor has both palms missing, one of which is still on the seabed, the other probable one of being recovered in 1988. The anchor had a shank length of 4.60 metres (15’ 1” feet) and was estimated at 34 cwt.
“Anchor SI 57, on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum, was recovered in 1985. With a shank length of 4.55 metres, it is estimated to be a 28 cwt example.
“Two other smaller examples exist on the wreck site, one SI 624 with a shank length of 3.35 metres (10’ 11”) is estimated to be a 12-17 cwt type, while SI 625 has a shank length of 2.85 metres (9’ 4”) and is presumed to be a 10.5 cwt example.
“Anchor NI 20 was recovered in 1973 by the SS Holmburn and is currently on display at Kingston, Norfolk Island. This anchor, minus stock and ring, had a shank length of 4.62 metres (15’ 1” feet) and was also estimated at 34 cwt.”
The report included this drawing: -
It is similar to the drawing featured on the front cover of the report.
At least a couple of our 846 SAAS members were mentioned in “The Wreck of the Sirius” by Graeme Henderson – Mark Staniforth and Bill Jeffery. Both were part of the 1985 expedition to the wreck site.
Geoff Kimpton is described in the report as being a “veteran surf diver”. He also assisted in the construction of replica parts. Myra Stanbury was reported to be “in charge of the registration of finds”. Jon Carpenter was described as a conservator. He apparently directed the conservation work on the best bower anchor.
HMS Sirius is said to be a vessel of ~511 tons/519 tonnes. Its length is said to have been 120 feet (36.5m). It was built on the River Thames as a 3-masted Baltic trader in 1781.
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