Xantho 1872
Marker: recorded wreck position (Steam era).
Key facts
| Name | Xantho | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1872 | English Wikipedia lead text (year following a loss verb, parsed) |
| Era | Steam era | derived from year |
| Ship type | paddle steamer | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | Australia | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Sea / ocean | INDIAN OCEAN | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Australia | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 17 km from land |
| Position | -28.1865, 114.2362 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
SS Xantho was a steam ship used in the colony of Western Australia as a pearling transport and mothership, as a tramp steamer, carrying passengers, including Aboriginal convicts and trade goods before she sank at Port Gregory, Western Australia in 1872. She was powered by a horizontal trunk engine, and was the first steamship to operate in north-western Australia.
Although the wrecksite remained marked on charts, it was largely buried and forgotten until 1979 when it was rediscovered and re-dentified. Subsequent investigations by the Department of Maritime Archaeology at the Western Australian Museum, in concert with the Museum's Department of Conservation and Restoration saw the trunk engine recovered in 1985. In the ensuing years it was gradually restored for display at the museum.
Diving & visiting
After initial salvage of loose material, the wreck lay abandoned until 1979 when, with the aid of local fishermen, it was located by the Maritime Archaeological Association of Western Australia, the volunteer wing of the Department of Maritime Archaeology at the Western Australian Museum. At the time, iron and steam shipwrecks were effectively a new class of maritime archaeological site. These sites required a new approach in both archaeological method and conservation science. A pre-disturbance survey, re-inspection and test excavation was conducted by corrosion specialists, biologists and archaeologists under the overall direction of Dr M. McCarthy.
The study found that the propulsion system and part of the stern were in uniformly good condition, although the rest of the remains were very fragile.
Location
- Recorded position: -28.1865, 114.2362 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: INDIAN OCEAN
- 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 SS Xantho (revision 1327991190), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Rediscovery and engine restoration”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
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Browse more: Oceania wrecks · wrecks off Australia · INDIAN OCEAN · Steam era