Sponsored by:
    OCEANS
    ENTERPRISES
    Publishers & distributors
    CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS - 
    Australian Shipwrecks
    and Maritime History
    Please note: The books are listed for interest only, and not offered for sale. 

    See also:
    DIVING AUSTRALIAN WRECKS
    WORLD SHIPWRECKS

    See also specific ships listed on 
    Classic dive books home page. 

    For current books in print on shipwrecks link to:
    Oceans Enterprises - Australian Shipwrecks

    See also Encyclopedia of Australin Shipwrecks website.

    And for a complete list of books on Australian Shipwrecks.

     
    No Image. ADVENTURES WITH SHIPWRECKS.
    J.K.Loney.
    Published during or pre-1967.
    One of the first - possibly THE first booklet written and published by Jack Loney - the start of over 100 books and booklets on Australian shipwrecks. Nearly all of these are now out of print. First editions may be of interest to collectors over the years, Most of the booklets, in particular, went through many editions and reprintings. The following are some of these, with their first edition dates indicated.
     
    1971
    		 1967
    WRECKS ALONG THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD. J.K.Loney
    Published in 1967. No publisher's name indicated.
    This is one of the first books produced by Australia's most prolific maritime writer who specialised in recording the thousand's of shipwrecks on and off Australia's coastline. This particular book when through many printings and revisions and is still in print.
    [ps]
    WRECK OF THE ADMELLA
    Ian Mudie. Published by Rigby Limited, Sydney etc, in 1966. It is one of the first books specifically on an Australian shipwreck. Hardcover, dustjacket, 184 pages, mono photographs, index, sources.
    The iron, single-screw steamship pf 392 tons was wrecks on Carpenter's reef north-west of Cape Northumberland, South Australia, on 6 August 1859, with the loss of ninety-two lives. Most tragic was that many clung to the vessel and a slim hope of life for many days before the sea claimed another victim. A superb book recording an important era in Australia's mritime history. [ps]. 
    AUSTRALIA'S ISLAND SHIPWRECKS
    Jack Loney and Peter Stone
    Publishd by Neptune Press, Belmont, Victoria, 1980. Available in both hardback and softcover. A4 size, 117 pages, colour and mono photographs, index, further reading, Historic Shipwreck Law.
    Concerns the shipwrecks lost off sixteen islands around the mainland Australian coast, including Lord How Island and Norfolk Island, but not Tasmania. General information on the islands followed by description of the wrecks. Includes diving information. 
    HIGH AND DRY 
    Visible Wrecks and Wreckage in Australin Waters.
    Peter Stone and Jack Loney.
    Neptune Press Pty Ltd, Newtown, Victoria. 1983.
    A useful booklet of 68 pages with many mono photographs giving details of wrecks and hulks, wreckage and anchors, along the mainland Australian coast, and the islands. Index, and ship summary. 

    		ISLANDS OF ANGRY GHOSTS
    Hugh Edwards. 
    Published in 1966 Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, London. There appears to hve been an earlier US edition, published by William Morrow & Co, Inc. New York.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 206 pages, mono prints. 
    Tells the terrible take of the Dutch Esat-Indiaman Batavia, lost in the Abrolhos Islands off Western Autralia in 1969. her wrecking was one thing - the massacre that followed another terrible tragedy, especially for the women and children. The book is in two parts, covering her history and destruction, and subsequent discovery. There have been a few books written on the Batavia, but it demonstrates th skill of this award-winning author that this title is still in print. 
    [ps]

    Below: Probably the US edition. 
    MRS. FRASER ON THE FATAL SHORE
    Michael Alexander.
    Published by Simon & Schuster, NY, 1971. (First American printing).
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 8va, 189 pages,  text illustrated. Includes chart of the coast of NSW from Port Jackson to the Cumberland Isles, & map of events. 
    "In the year 1835, the pregnant Mrs. Fraser left her three children in the safe hands of her minister and set sail with her ailing husband, the captain of the Stirling Castle, on an ill-fated voyage from London to Sydney, Australia. The boat foundered and sank on the Great Barrier Reef off New South Wales and what follows is a dire tale indeed." 
    This is a true narrative of the shipwreck, capture by aborigines, sufferings & miraculous escape of Eliza Fraser in Australia in 1835
    Australian edition also. 

    .
    		NORTH COAST RUN. A History of The North Coast Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.
    Michael P. Richards.
    Printed and published by K.J.Wass & Co., Epping, NSW. 1967.
    Softcover, 96 pages, mono photographs, no index but a summary list of vessels. Covers the small freighters plying the north coast of New South Wales and the many river systems. 
    Reprinted 1980, second edition.
    Reprinted, 1996 in an expanded edition; publisher Turton & Armstrong, Wahroonga, NSW. Renamed: NORTH COAST RUN - Men and Ships of the N.S.W. North Coast.
    Softcover, landscape format, 174 pages. Still no index, but includes a suggested reading list.
     
    ONE MINUTE OF TIME
    The Melbourne-Voyager Collision
    Vice Admiral Harold Hickling.
    A.H. & A.W.Reed, Sydney, Wellington. 1965.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 234 pages, mono prints, list of offers and men lost, no index.
    Covers the tragic collison between the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourn and the destroyer H<AS Voyageroff Jervis Bay, 10 Febriary 1964.
    No Image. PAGEANT OF THE PACIFIC
    Being the Maritime History of Australasia
    Captain F.Rhodes
    Published about 1934 by F.J.Thwaites (Pty) Ltd, Sydney.
    In two volumes, hardcover, 412 pages and 478 pages. Excellent index of ships,places, persons and subjects. The index of ships covers about 1500 vessels over two volumes. Due no doubt to the contraints on space (and time), each vessel rates only a few paragraphs at the most. Yet the information provided is tremendous and forms a 'primary' resource for many historians, although when used it is clearly secondary research. 
    PANDORA'S LAST VOYAGE
    Geoffrey Rawson.
    Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. New York, 1963.
    Library of Congress 64-18291.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 162 pages, a few mono prints, bibliography, index.
    From the fly:
    Based on authentic documents, this rousing account of a great sea saga blends the glamour of the exotic tropics with violent action and suspense. In 1791, H.M.S. Pandora was sent to the Pacific to find- the notorious H.M.S. Bounty, and to bring its crew back to justice in England. Though the Pandora never found the Bounty, she eventually rounded up those of the mutineers who had remained in Tahiti. These men had to face Pandora's brutal captain on the perilous voyage home, and some of them were inexcusably lost when the ship struck a reef and sank. Tortured by sun, hunger" and thirst, the survivors navigated an astonishing passage to safety, but to some, safety meant trial and probable death; This extraordinary narrative is peopled with colorful characters: George Stewart, the Bounty midshipman whose marriage to a beautftul Tahitian girl was immortalized by Byron; Mary Bryant, the woman convict from Botany Bay; and the amiable inhabitants of the South Sea island paradise, to whom the coming of the ships' crews brought sor- row and degradation. With its background of perilous reefs, uncharted tropical seas, and churning emotions, this book infuses history with the power and fascination of high adventure.   [ps]
    SAILORMEN'S GHOSTS. 
    Malcolm Uren. 
    The Abrolhos Islands In Three Hundred Years of Romance, History and Adventure.
    Robertson & Mullens, Melbourne. First published November 1940. Went into second and third editions by end of year. Up to 6th edition (possibly more) in August 1945. By then is a thinner book due to a better quality, glossier, paper - otherwise identical. Hardcover, dustjacket, 253 pages, mono prints. 
    'Modern Adventure, Ancient Shipwrecks, Mutiny, Piracy and Treasure Trove off the Coast of Western Australia'. Indeed, th story of the Batavia and the other Dutch East Indiamen that went up on th WA reefs in the sixteen and seventeenth century is quite remarkable, beyond the interst of any modern day fiction.

    [ps-3rd,1940,left; 6th,1945,smaller,no dj]
    SHIPWRECKS ALONG THE SOUTHERN COAST
    G.A. Nayler.
    No date, no publisher. Probably early seventies, self published.
    Softcover, 96 pages, mono photos throughout, hand drawn charts.
    Geoff Naylor lived in Geelong and was one of the earliest, and keenest, of wreck divers, exploring many wrecks at Port Phillip Heads and along the western Victorian coastline. This small book gives a potted history of the major wrecks, and the circumstances of the dive. Contains material of some minor historical interest; the book itself is not scarce.

    .
    		SHIPWRECKS AND MORE SHIPWRECKS. Margaret E. MacKenzie
    First edition published in 1954 as ‘Shipwrecks': paperback, loose dust-jacket type cover on thin board.
    Published by The National Press Pty Ltd, Melbourne. Eighty-five pages, a few mono prints. 
    Seconmd edition published also as Shipwrecks, in hardcover, with dustjacket. 
    Fourth edition enlarged to this title, 1974.
    Published by MacKenzie, Peterborough, Victoria. Hardcover, dustjacket, 190 pages, several mono plates, charts. This is a remarkable book for several reasons. Firstly, the book is actually written by Jean MacKenzie, daughter of Margaret MacKenzie. The explanation is simple, as noted in the introduction - Margaret was blind for the last twelve years of her life, so Jean wrote down her mother's stories. Margaret came to Peterborough in 1873, so she had intimiate knowledge of the wrecks of the Young Australia, Falls f Halladale, Schomberg, Loch Ard, Newfield and several others wrecked along the western Victoria coast. These are first-hand accounts, rich in annecdote and historical value. The historic data, particularly in terms of dates, is sometimes inaccurate. The strengh of the book is its contemporary descriptions of events. 
    I had the pleasure of meeting Jean MacKenzie many years ago, in Peterborough, and found her to be a remarkable lady. 

    Images:
    Top is original 1954 first edition, now quite rare. [ps]
    Bottom is later fourth, and last,  edition 1974. 

    ..
    		SPOILS FROM THE SEA. The Life and Adventures of Diver J.E. Johnstone
    James Taylor
    First published Australia 1949.Australasian Publishing Company, Sydney.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 240 pages, mopno photographs throughout.
    Johnstone is the most famous of the Australian hard-hat divers, due in part to his recovery of gold from the Niagara (see Gold From the Sea, by James Taylor), and his many Australian salvage efforts, many documented by Taylor.  Obviously inspired by Johnstone's work on the Niagara, Taylor has written a biography of Johnstone's salvage from the wrecks of Bass Strait to the ‘3 Jap wrecks' off Buin. A very interesting book with content of historical value, although the book is relatively easy to obtain. 

    LES DEPOUILLES DE LA MER.
    James Taylor
    Published 1952 in the French language. Hardcover, 234 pages.

    My French is non existent but I presume this is Spoils From The Sea. I had no idea it was published in French and disappointed that I missed out on buying it. It begs the question as to whether Taylor's Gold From The Sea was also translated into French. It would have ben a more interesting book to an internatioanl market. 
    THE LOSS OF THE TREVESSA.
    1700 M ILES IN OPEN BOATS. THE STORY OF THE LOSS OF THE SS TREVESSA IN THE INDIAN OCEAN, AND THE VOYAGE OF HER BOATS TO SAFETY. 
    Cecil Foster (the Master of the Trevessa).
    First published 1924, Martin Hopkinson & Co, London. Hardcover, dust jacket, 176 pages, map, mono photographs. Review copy is th second edition, 1926, indicated as the 'Cheap edition'.
    On 3 June 1923, S.S. Trevessa sank in the middle of the southern Indian Ocean, having left Fremantle for Britain and Europe. Two boats were launched leaving the crew of forty-four hoping for assistance, but eventually set a course for Rodriguez Island. One boat mde it after 26 days. The other boat however experienced a tragic passage. Water ran short and despite repeated warnings, four Indian members of the crew drank sea water and died. The second engineer fell overboard during rough weather, and another crewman died two hours before land was sighted. This boat missed Rodriguez Island and sighted Mauritius on 28 June. The survivors were so exhausted by this time they had to be carried ashore, and the chief cook died soon after arrival. [ps]
    THE WRECK ON HALF-MOON REEF:
    The True Story of the Dutch East India Ship Zeewyk
    Hugh Edwards. 
    Published by Scribners, 1970.
    Harcover, dustjacket, 193 pages, photographs.
    The story of the wreck of the Dutch East Indiaman Zeewyk in 1727 off the West Australia coast. The author and others found the Wreck in 1963.

    Paperback edition also relaseed. 
    VOYAGE TO DISASTER
    The Batavia mutiny. Henriette Drake-Brockman.
    The full title on the title page is:
    Voyage to Disaster. The Life of Francisco Pelsaert. covering his Indian Report to the Dutch East India Company and the wreck of the ship batavia in 1629 off the coast of Western Australia together with the full text of his Journals concerning Rescue Voyages, the mitiny on the Abrolhos Islands and the subsequent trials of the Mutineers. 
    Published by Angus and Robertson, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Wellington, 1964. Published in Great Britain. 
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 38 pages.
    Not the first of the many books on the loss of the Batavia - that honour goes to the publication by Joost hartgers in 1648, titled Ongeluckige Voyagie Van't Ship Batavia. Drake-Brockman's book however covers much of the text of the original Dutch volume, and gives  great insight into the disgraceful e vnts that occured after the wrecking of the Batavia off Beacon Island in the Abrolhos. It was of course written before the wreck of the Batavia was found and no doubt encouraged those at the Western Australin Museum to search for the vessel. It was found, by a crayfisherman, and later subjected to extnsive excavation by the Maritim Archaeology departmnt of the musuem.  This is a vluable and important book.
    My copy includes a signed lteer from the author, dated 1968. [ps]

    .
    		S.S.YONGLA - DIVE TO THE PAST
    Max Gleeson and Mae Elliott.
    Turton and Armstrong Publishers, Wahroonga, NSW. 1987. ISBN 0 908031 31 9.
    Hardcover, justjacket, 80 pages, mono and colour prints, ship layout, passenger information. 
    S.S.YONGALA - TOWNSVILLE'S TITANIC
    Max Gleeson.
    Self published, Caringbah, NSW, 2000.  ISBN 0 646 37781 7.
    Hardcover, laminated boards, 120 pages, mono and colour prints, ship layout, pssenger information.
    From the fly of the 2000 edition.
    In 1987, with Mae Elliott, I wrote "S.S.Yongala  - Dive To The Past". The book dispelled for the first time, several of the myths associated with the ship. In 1981 a plaque had been placed on the hull of the wreck in memory of the 120 lives lost. Our research discovered one tiny life had not been included in that number. Ailsa Mary Murray who, because she was only eights weeks old and too young to be allocated.a berth, was never counted as a passenger. In the years since that first dive I have made over sixty dives to the Yongala. On several occasions we spent five days anchored above the wreck in perfect weather. I had the privilege to explore every corridor, hold and compartment and saw the remains of many of her passengers and crew. Perhaps the most sobering sight was an entire pelvic bone fused to the floor. On another unforgettable occasion we dived in the afternoon exploring the first class cabins. Our path where bulkheads once stood was lit by the eclipsed glow of sunlight from each encrusted porthole, every one the centre of a cabin and a tomb for those who occupied it. As an ardent wreck diver my travels have taken me to some of the most renowned and beautiful shipwrecks in the north and south Pacific. While some haye surpassed the Yongala in beauty, no wreck matches the diversity of marine life that can be seen on any single dive. Very few, if any, diveable shipwrecks can match her tragic history .  [ps]
    Second edition is still in print. Available from Oceans Enterprises. 
    WRECKS AND REPUTATIONS
    Don Charlwood.
    First published by Angus and Robertson, Australia, 1977.
    ISBN (hard) 0 207 13065 5; (soft) 0 207 13547 9. 
    Cover is of softcover edition 1978. [ps]
    Softcover, stiff boards, 190 pages, index, mono prints.
    The western entrance to Bass Strait was notorious for bringing to a premature end many ships, passengers and crew after crossing the Indian and Southern Oceans on their way from England to Port Phillip. An attempt at threading the narrow pass between King Island and Cape Otway was fraught with danger, requiring astute seamanship and a hell of a lot of luck. The western coastline of Victoria (Australia) is dotted with tragedy. The author explains why this is so, and covers in detail the wreck of the Loch Ard, Schomberg, Marco Polo and Lightning, all of which have been subsequently located and dived.This is the 1988 second edition of the book initially published in 1977. An excellent book.
    Softcover, 194 pages, mono photographs.
    Out of prints but copies available from Oceans Enterprises.

     

    CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS HOME


      This CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS site is sponsored by:
      OCEANS ENTERPRISES
      Publishers and Distributors
      303 Commercial Road, Yarram, Vic 3971, Australia
      Phone (03) 5182 5108   International  61 3 5182 5108
      Fax (03) 5182 5823   Internationl 61 3 5182 5823
      Email: peter@oceans.com.au
      For
      OCEANS ENTERPRISES
      homepage, link on graphic.

    We are on-line via Netspace in Yarram, Victoria, Australia. Last updated on 12 October 2004
    Best viewed on a screen resolution of 800 x 600 or higher.