Page 40: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2023)

SEAFLOOR MAPPING

All images courtesy Curtin University

Digital 3D model of WA Shipwreck he underwater remains of a ship built in Fremantle in reconstruction,” Professor Woods said.

1876 and which sunk off the coast several years later can “The new 3D model of the Star allows the wreck site to be now be explored with ease thanks to a digital 3D model inspected in much greater detail than ever before, including

Tunveiled by Curtin University and the Western Austra- with use of visualization technologies such as virtual reality.

lian Museum following the recent 143rd anniversary of its loss. “By visiting the website, the wreck model can be panned,

Colonial schooner the Star was used as a whaling vessel for rotated and zoomed in on as a 3D object, and examined from expeditions off WA until 1880 when a dramatic maritime mis- any angle.” hap caused it to sink off Rockingham, thankfully without loss Dr. Ross Anderson, Curator at the WA Museum said the lat- of the crewmembers’ lives. est inspection of the wreck site in 2004 revealed very little of

Returning from an unsuccessful whaling trip to Geographe the vessel remained after decades of exposure to the under-

Bay, a navigational error saw the vessel plough into the Mur- water elements but in 1983 parts of the wreck were in good ray Reef near Port Kennedy at about 3am on October 20, 1880. enough condition to be identi? ed as being made from jarrah,

The wreck was discovered in 1972 at a depth of 2.7m and the sapwood, red mahogany and red gum, sourced from both WA

WA Museum excavated the site in 1983, during which over- and interstate.

lapping black and white ? lm photographs were captured and a “No whaling equipment was found at the wreck site, but 2D photomosaic was created. large pulleys were recovered, along with artefacts including

In the summer of 2022-23, Curtin University HIVE (Hub for a brass ship’s log, a penny dated 1876 and different types of

Immersive Visualization and eResearch) Internship student ceramic wares,” Dr. Anderson said.

Jarod Harris used the photography from 1983 to create the Mr Harris said being able to create the 3D model from the digital 3D model of the wreck released today. WA Museum’s records of an archaeological excavation con-

Associate Professor Andrew Woods, manager of the Curtin ducted 40 years ago was an exciting and very satisfying pro-

HIVE said the Star was signi? cant as an early Western Aus- cess and captured a moment in time.

tralian-built vessel, with the wreck providing evidence of co- “Our 3D model gives researchers and the public virtual ac- lonial ship-building methods and materials. cess to this signi? cant archaeological site and enables them to “The digital 3D model has been created from the legacy pho- learn more about Western Australia’s early maritime history,” tography using a technique known as photogrammetric 3D Mr Harris said.

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