The Bower Anchors from HMS Porpoise

The 308-ton HMS Porpoise was wrecked at Wreck Reefs in 1803. The explorer Matthew Flinders was returning to England onboard Porpoise when they were shipwrecked on this isolated coral reef off the east coast of Australia.

The Porpoise had been Spanish-built in the late 1700s. It was captured by the British Navy in 1799. It was then commissioned as a 10-gun sloop.

Ben Cropp found the remains of the Porpoise in 1965. This photograph of the anchor was taken by Ben (for Playboy magazine): -

Expeditions were conducted by the Queensland Museum and the Maritime Archaeological Association of Queensland in the 1980s. This photo from "Wrecks Reefs" by Kieran Hosty in "Signals" for March-May 2010 of an Admiralty long-shank anchor from the Porpoise was taken by the group: -

According to "Wrecks Reefs" by Kieran Hosty, the Porpoise was carrying 3 bower anchors.

I can't yet recall just where I found this photo of one of the three anchors: -