411 Dive Log Australasia April 2025

“The Wreck on the Half Moon Reef” by the late Hugh Edwards tells the story of the Zeewijk wreck. At the end of 1727, the surviving crew from the wrecked Zeewijk salvaged timber and other materials from the wreck and, along with the resources available on the islands, they built a boat (a little sloop) over a period of 5 months. On 26th March 1728, 88 survivors finally set sail in their new vessel, named Sloepie, meaning ‘little sloop’. After a 1-month voyage, the 82 survivors (6 people died along the way) disembarked in Batavia on 28th April. The Water Witch was a single-masted cutter built in 1835. It was used by SA’s first marine surveyor for surveys of Encounter Bay and the Murray Mouth. It was also the supply vessel for Edward Eyre during his exploration across the Nullarbor Plain from SA to WA. In 1841, the Water Witch sailed through the Murray Mouth to Eyre’s station at Moorundie, near Blanchetown where it sank at its moorings in December 1842. According to a Wikipedia page about the Society for Underwater Historical Research, the discovery of the wreck of the Water Witch in the River Murray near Blanchetown in 1982 was followed by a survey project in 1984 (in association with the SA Government (Dept. of Environment &

Planning) and the Society for Underwater Research (SUHR), with assistance from the SA Police (STAR Force Dive Section). The SUHR published a report titled “The Water Witch Wrecksite – A Report on the Identification, Survey & Partial Recovery of the Wrecksite” (ISBN 0 7243 8934 2) in June 2007*. A report by Terry Drew was also published in the SUHR’s Annual Report 1983.

* (Originally published in 1987 by the then State Heritage Branch, Department of Environment & Natural Resources.)

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