The Australian shipwreck database; an interim report

For a number of years maritime archaeologists and historians have been involved in accumulating data on shipwrecks known to have been lost in Australian waters. This information has inevitably developed from simple card indexes into complex databases. The type of information collected by research workers has tended to differ, depending on the nature and interest of the organizations or individuals involved in the recording. Recording shipwreck information as part of a State management plan was first started in Western Australian by Henderson (1977). Since the declaration of the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976, most of the delegated authorities in the States have also started to collect shipwreck information as part of their heritage management programme.