Some of the Anchors from HMS Sirius

Some of the Anchors from HMS Sirius

by Steve Reynolds

The best bower anchor from HMS Sirius was let go in Sydney Bay, Norfolk Island in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the ship drifting on to rocks off Point Ross, Kingston in March 1790.

The anchor was raised in 1985 by a WA Team including Graeme Henderson who wrote an account for the Jan-March 1993 issue of Australian Geographic journal. The anchor is about 4.5m long and was 1400kg when weighed during treatment. It was placed in the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney at the time.

The small bower anchor was the first one dropped in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the ship from drifting on to rocks. The anchor was raised by local divers in 1973.

The large anchor ring photo is from the small bower anchor. The ring remains cemented to the seabed.

The recovered anchor had a replica ring and stock attached to it. It was placed in the Sirius Museum on Norfolk Island.

This anchor from HMS Sirius was recovered off Norfolk Island by Sir F Suttor in 1905. The anchor was transported to Sydney. It was placed on a white marble pedestal in front of Customs House, Circular Quay. It was later moved to Macquarie Reserve.

HMS Sirius was the flagship for the First Fleet 1787-1788.

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