Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – The 800-ton Dutch merchant sailing ship, Koning Willem de Tweede, was lost during a storm in 1857. Recently, marine archaeologists announced the discovery of its shipwreck off the coast of South Australia, potentially containing numerous treasures.
This 42-meter-long vessel sailed from Hong Kong and reached South Australia in June 1857 with 400 Chinese miners headed for the Victorian goldfields. It safely arrived at Guichon Bay to disembark its passengers at Robe port.
Mark Polzer, South Australia’s Principal Maritime Heritage Officer, conducts a metal detector survey on the seabed to investigate the shipwreck site of Koning Willem de Tweede. Credit: Ruud Stelten.
After unloading near Robe on June 30, the Koning Willem de Tweede faced a severe storm. Caught in violent winds, it sustained significant structural damage. To prevent sinking, the captain deliberately grounded it on a sandbank. Unfortunately, this maneuver split the hull in two and led to tragedy when a lifeboat capsized; only nine out of twenty-five crew members survived.
Lead researcher James Hunter described challenging conditions for divers as “an underwater sandstorm” due to shifting sands.
Koning Willem de Tweede at Batavia, 1849. Watercolour by Jacob Spin. Courtesy Rotterdam Maritime Museum
In 2022, 165 years later a collaborative effort by researchers from various institutions formed the Koning Willem de Tweede Shipwreck Project, aiming to locate and study the wreckage. Using marine metal detectors and magnetometers that identify iron objects’ concentrations, they discovered iron components believed to be part of an anchor hoisting windlass protruding from seabed sands alongside an iron frame structure.
Additionally, beneath this equipment was a timber plank, suggesting that more remains might lie buried under layers upon layers within these shifting sands, awaiting further exploration efforts!
Iron windlass components have been uncovered during the investigation of the Koning Willem de Tweede shipwreck site. Credit: Ruud Stelten.
The magnetometer detected additional anomalies, indicating the potential presence of large iron artifacts and hull components buried at the site. When these anomalies were mapped, they corresponded with the known length of the Koning Willem de Tweede.
A significant breakthrough occurred this year when metal detectors helped pinpoint the exact location, leading to the discovery of parts of the vessel. Researchers have confirmed that both the wreck’s location and its length align with historical records of the Koning Willem de Tweede. Supporting evidence includes pottery fragments—specifically 19th-century Chinese coarse earthenware ceramics—found on a nearby beach in March 2023.
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The research team plans to revisit the shipwreck site to evaluate its condition and document any exposed remains and artifacts. If necessary, they will employ a tool to dredge sand from overburied sections of the shipwreck.
“The wrecking event was catastrophic and very sudden, so we’re very likely to find a lot of artefacts. No one had time to grab anything. Pretty much everything was lost – and is all probably still in the wreck, which can tell us so much about the ship’s crew and its passengers,” Hunter told the Cosmos.
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer