Shipwreck Databases Western Australian Museum

George Grey’s whalers

Author/s J. Rodrigues

Year of publication 2006

Report Number: 210

Report A - AbstractFinders in Kalbarri, Western Australia, discovered lead shot as well as a lead fitting in the sand dunes of one of the local beaches. These were believed to be associated with the explorer George Grey who was wrecked in the vicinity in 1839. In October 2005, the site was inspected by a staff from the Department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Museum, as a result of this discovery, which was reported to the Department. Two other sites, which contained bone fragments, were also recorded because these were in close proximity to the site where the archaeological finds were first discovered.Report B - IntroductionFollowing the inspection of an archaeological site in Kalbarri where 382 pieces of lead shot were recovered by three local residents, a team from the Western Australia Museum’s Department of Maritime Archaeology were sent to carry out an archaeological investigation of the site. The aims of this expedition were to delimit the size of the site as well as investigate what other material lay buried within the deposit. Archival research and archaeological evidence suggests that the material is likely to be associated with the George Grey expedition of 1839.