Page 19 - Bulletin 9 2005

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salvage – the wreck site was largely forgotten. Almost 200 years later, divers from the
Institute of Maritime Technology (IMT) swam out from Long Beach to look for wreckage

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they thought might be in the area. What they discovered was the remains of a 19 century
ship with well-preserved lower hull structure. The remains of the sandalwood cargo and the

construction and structure assisted in identifying the wreck as being that of the Brunswick.

The divers immediately seized the opportunity to carry out further investigation of the site
and formed a research partnership with the Iziko Maritime Museum. Jaco Boshoff, the

Iziko maritime archaeologist, supervised a survey project named Operation Sandalwood
that sought to carry out an initial pre-disturbance survey of the wreck site. IMT produced a

detailed site map of visible remains and conducted a small test excavation, which yielded
some artefacts from the wreck site. The site plan has been incorporated into the Naval GIS

and the site now serves as a field laboratory for Nautical Archaeology Society courses.

The survey and research work carried out on this site has yielded some interesting data and

it is clear that further work needs to be carried out. The vessel falls into an intermediate

development stage between wooden and iron hulls. The major structure of the vessel is
constructed from wood, but the first indications of change are evident in the inclusion of

iron knees (the structures that form the brackets which support the underside of the decks).
The ship falls into a relatively short section of maritime history. As the forests of Europe

diminished in the face of large-scale ship construction, alternative sources of materials and
alternative technologies for ship construction were being sought. The result was, of course,

the construction of iron vessels, but the transition is an interesting one to study.

A year after the Brunswick was wrecked, a second vessel was sunk nearby. The Dutch 76-

gun man o’war Bato had been found to be in poor condition and was being hulked. At the
time that the Brunswick was brought into Simon’s Bay, the Bato lay at anchor whilst her

guns, masts, rigging and other valuable, unnecessary or reusable parts, were removed. A
contemporary painting of the wrecking of the Brunswick, shows the Bato amidst other ships

of the Dutch fleet. The painting is of interest not only because it shows the two vessels, but