Shipwrecks and Communities: Responses to Shipping Mishaps in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Shipwrecks have been conventionally examined archaeologically from various aspects (including ship design, cargoes and trade route identification, and have traditionally been regarded as tragic catastrophic events. Victorian shipwrecks occurred within a near-shore arena, often close to the coasts of small isolated maritime communities. These incidents potentially stimulate a range of reactive behavioural traits and perceptions from nearby residents, which have not been extensively explored, and may offer new understandings of the effects of shipping mishaps on frontier societies. A range of responses to altruistic/opportunistic reactions to maritime disasters is examined in a maritime cultural landscape context, along with new archaeological characterisations and material culture associated with the exploitation of shipping mishaps around Queenscliffe in Victoria, Australia. These observations present interesting new insights into understanding the maritime cultural landscapes of shipping mishaps and their subsequent archaeological signatures from social and cultural perspectives.