Aarhus Historic Shipwreck

History
Builder	Hamburg
Launched	1875
Fate	Sank on 24 February 1894
General characteristics
Class and type	barque
Tons burthen	640
Length	170 feet (52 m)

In Australia, Aarhus Historic Shipwreck is a historical site preserving one of the victims of Smith's Rock. The Aarhus was a 640-tonne sailing barque built in 1875 in Hamburg, Germany. She was 170 feet (52 m) long.

While carrying a general cargo including kerosene from New York to Brisbane, Australia, she hit Smith's Rock, which lies about two nautical miles (4 km) north-east of Cape Moreton, and sank on 24 February 1894.

The remains of the ship now lie upright in 20 metres of water, though most of the ship has been reduced to plates and ribs sticking out of the sand. It has been gazetted under Section 7 of the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 which provides for a special protected zone of 200m around the wreck. Any disturbance activity is prohibited; divers are required to apply to the director of the Queensland Museum for a permit to access the wreck.

The Esperance Star and the MV Nautilus both currently hold permits to dive this historic wreck. This site has lots of interesting life, from macro to large batfish at cleaning stations everywhere. Another point of interest is the large mast-like object that is actually the bowsprit. This area has a cat shark inside the bowsprit and a large wobbegong shark under the scoured out section. The site can have very good visibility but a strong current makes it hard to see the entire wreck in one dive.

See also

• List of shipwrecks