Curtin University and the Western Australian Museum have released a digital 3D model of the wreck of sealing vessel Belinda on the 199th anniversary of the brig sinking off Esperance.
The Belinda was built in 1819 and wrecked at Middle Island in the Archipelago of the Recherche near Esperance on 19 July 1824. The ship’s crew all survived and were rescued by another sealing ship Nereus, but only after a gruelling five-month wait on the uninhabited island.
The WA Museum discovered the wreck site in 1989 and excavated it between 1989 and 1991, during which overlapping black and white photographs were taken and a 2D photomosaic was created.
In the summer of 2022-23, Curtin University HIVE (Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch) Internship student Jarod Harris used the photography from 1991 to create the digital 3D model of the wreck released today.
Associate Professor Andrew Woods, manager of the Curtin HIVE said Belinda was significant as the earliest-known sealing vessel wreck to have been found in Australia, and was the only sealing vessel in Australia to have been archaeologically excavated.
“The digital 3D model has been created from the legacy photography using a technique known as photogrammetric 3D reconstruction,” Professor Woods said.
“The new 3D model of Belinda allows the wreck site to be explored and studied in much greater detail than ever before, including with use of new visualisation technologies such as virtual reality.
“By visiting the website, the wreck model can be panned, rotated and zoomed in on as a 3D object, and examined from any angle.”
WA Museum Maritime Archaeologist Dr Ross Anderson, who investigated the Belinda wreck in his PhD, said it was amazing that the 3D model was created from the WA Museum’s records of an archaeological excavation conducted over 30 years ago.
“The model enables researchers and the public to virtually access this remote, but significant archaeological site, and learn more about Western Australia’s early maritime history,” Dr Anderson said.
“The vessel and crew were exploring and working in a remote area that was a new frontier for sealers at that time. They unfortunately fell victim to treacherous winter conditions that destroyed their ship, but luckily escaped with their lives.”
The Belinda 3D model project was funded through the Commonwealth Government’s Underwater Cultural Heritage Program.
