Booya
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | Booya | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | ship, shipwreck | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | Australia | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Sea / ocean | Timor Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Australia | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 11 km from land |
| Position | -12.3897, 130.7714 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Booya was a steel-hulled three-masted schooner with an auxiliary oil engine built in the Netherlands in 1917 and originally named De Lauwers. The schooner was renamed Argosy Lemal in 1920 and carried that name until 1949. As Argosy Lemal the ship served as one of the early United States Army communications ships from 1942 to 1949. In 1949, on return to civilian use, the vessel was renamed Ametco, Clair Crouch and finally Booya in 1964. Booya was last seen anchored off Fort Hill wharf in Darwin Harbour at about 8.00pm on 24 December 1974, the evening Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin. Nearly twenty-nine years later, in October 2003, she was discovered by chance in Darwin Harbour, lying on her starboard side in about 20 metres of water.
Diving & visiting
On 22 October 2003, divers discovered the wreck by chance in Darwin Harbour, lying on her starboard side in about 20 metres of water, five nautical miles (9 km) from shore. Her exact location was given as 12°23.381′S 130°46.281′E. The discovery and subsequent identification of the Booya led to a coronial inquiry. The Northern Territory Government signed an instrument re-declaring the wreck site subject to an Interim Conservation Order, under the Heritage Conservation Act ensuring an exclusion zone over the wreck. In 2005, Booya and the surrounding area was declared a 'heritage site'.
Location
- Recorded position: -12.3897, 130.7714 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Timor Sea
- Nearest coast: Australia
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Booya (ship) (revision 1374914152), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Discovery”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- USS Peary 1942 · 11 km
- SS Ellengowan 1888 · 28 km
Browse more: Oceania wrecks · wrecks off Australia · Timor Sea