How do shipwrecks interact with the marine environment and how can maritime archaeologists uncover how the cargoes and vessels degrade with time?
As part of the Western Australian Museum’s second year of the Harry Butler Lecture Series: In the Wild West and during National Science Week, Dr Ian MacLeod, an Executive Director of the WA Museum, will explain how chemists and conservators are working to prevent recovered waterlogged and heavily corroded materials from rapidly falling apart.
“Such research is important to provide not only historical information on the vessels and their cargoes, but also to help us better manage our marine environment,” Dr MacLeod said.
In his lecture Shipwrecks and Chemists, Dr MacLeod will take his audience on a journey into the world of decay and the chemistry of corrosion and conservation. He will tell the stories of some famous shipwrecks off the WA coast and the tales of shipwreck sites around the globe.
Western Australia has a shipwreck heritage dating back to 1622 with the wreck of the Trial and the infamous wreck of the Batavia in 1629.
The Dutch East Indian Batavia (1629) will feature in the lecture as will HMS Sirius (1790), which was the flagship of the First Fleet to Sydney, and HMS Pandora (1791) which recovered the mutineers from the wreck of the Bounty in Tahiti.
Closer to home, the wreck of the State's first steamship, SS Xantho in 1872 has lead to the development of a whole new field of shipwreck archaeology and conservation and the wreck of the American China Trader Rapid (1811) tells the tale of official corruption amongst the coin makers in Mexico in 1796.
“From studies of decayed historic artefacts, Museum shipwreck conservators are able to ‘read’ the corrosion products that began to form within hours of the ship sinking and were recorded when the objects were recovered from the deep,” Dr MacLeod said.
“These decay patterns are very sensitive to subtle changes in the microenvironment of the object and can help the archaeologists understand how the wreck-sites came to be formed and the objects scattered across the seabed.”
Dr Ian MacLeod is an Executive Director at the WA Museum and has recently been made responsible for operations at the WA Museum – Maritime, WA Museum - Shipwreck Galleries and the HMAS Ovens submarine in Fremantle. Dr MacLeod came to conservation from an electrochemistry background and it was the minerals that formed on the copper sheathing of ship hulls that drew him to a Research Officer position at the WA Museum in 1978. For nearly 33 years, the focus of his work has been the shipwreck and rock art programs and collections.
The Harry Butler lecture series: In the Wild West is proudly presented by the WA Museum in partnership with Chevron Australia. The series showcases the work of Museum scientists, curators and associates in the areas of natural and social sciences.
National Science Week runs from 13–21 August 2011. For more information visit http://www.scienceweek.gov.au/ <http://www.scienceweek.gov.au/>
LECTURE: Shipwrecks and Chemists
WHEN: Friday 19 August 2011, 6.00pm
WHERE: WA Museum – Maritime
Victoria Quay, Fremantle
BOOKINGS 9212 3813 www.museum.wa.gov.au/inthewildwest
COST: By gold coin donation.
Flora Perrella, Western Australian Museum T: 9212 3856 M: 0424027646
