Gooding says new technology such as drone footage has enabled them to identify black reef phenomenon, whereby iron and ironbased components of a shipwreck discolour, indicating the location of long-lost wrecks.
“Most of what remains includes chains, anchors, pump parts, knees, brackets, sheeting, cannons, ballast and such, which all react to the salt water, creating a black image on an otherwise pastel background. This technology is leading to new discoveries.
“While some of the artefacts we find may appear mundane, finding relics such as a cannon are a little more romantic. One memorable find was a ship’s bell. It was pretty special to go for a dive and realise you’re the first to have seen this bell in over 200 years.”
The Silentworld Foundation’s expeditions and research have so far focused on the final resting place of vessels such as Captain Cook’s Endeavour, deliberately sunk in 1778 by the British in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, during the American War of Independence; the Mermaid, which was commanded by Lieutenant Phillip Parker King RN, one of Australia’s greatest maritime surveyors, and wrecked on a coral reef off the Queensland coast in 1829; and L’Astrolabe, part of the French scientific and exploratory expedition led by Laperouse, which was lost in the Solomon Islands without a trace in 1788.
Other shipwrecks include the HMS Pandora, wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef and known for capturing the mutineers on the Bounty in the 1700s. “The story of Bligh and the famous mutiny are typical of the stories we unfold,” says Gooding, recounting how in 2017, Silentworld set off to visit Pitcairn Island, to the east of French Polynesia, to dive the wreck of the infamous HMS Bounty.
“Although little remains in such harsh conditions, this was a rare and memorable opportunity,” he says. “We planned our arrival for dawn to watch the sun rise over Pitcairn and the resting place of the Bounty. It’s a remarkable place, and one of the remotest islands on the earth,” he continues.
“We live in an island paradise, but the ocean in between can be unforgiving. In most instances, there’s no safe anchorage and no shelter – it was a bit of a challenge.”
Although the foundation has predominantly focused on the 17th and 18th centuries, with the success of past expeditions and at the request of different associations, its scope has now expanded to include other periods of history, including the two World Wars.
One significant project was the 2017 search for Australia’s first submarine, HMAS AE1, which sank off Papua New Guinea (PNG) during World War I. The story goes that on 14 September 1914, AE1 was patrolling off Cape Gazelle. After making contact with HMAS Parramatta, AE1 continued the patrol with instructions to return to port in Rabaul by sundown.
AE1 never came back, and no sign of the submarine was ever found. The fate of the vessel and the 35 men on board, comprising Australian, New Zealand and British subjects, remained unsolved for over a century.
“Our work on this expedition has helped to highlight our national history, and solved one of Australia’s greatest maritime mysteries,” says Gooding. “Being able to find the vessel also brought some closure to the families of the 35 men who were lost.”
The foundation is now gaining momentum. Following the successful HMAS AE1 mission, with support from the Department of Defence the foundation teamed up with Fugro, a leading geospatial deep-sea survey specialist company based in the Netherlands, to look for the Montevideo Maru, which was sunk by an American submarine during World War II.