Wrecks, Reefs and the Mermaid

First published on 10 Mar 2010. Updated on 5 Apr 2011.

In 2009 the Australian National Maritime Museum organised two archaeological expeditions to remote coral reefs off the coast of Queensland. The aim of these expeditions, sponsored by the Silentworld Foundation, were to locate the site of His Majesty's Colonial Schooner Mermaid, wrecked in 1829 on the Great Barrier Reef, and to survey the sites of His Majesty's Ship Porpoise and the merchant ship Cato, both lost more than 400 kilometres offshore from present day Gladstone on the Wreck Reefs in 1803. The expeditions would also provide marine scientists the opportunity to investigate the physical condition of the various reefs encountered during the work and to seek possible evidence of the impact of climate change on these reefs. Wrecks, Reefs and the Mermaid is a display of 11 photographs illustrating the Museum's work on these coral reefs.