To commemorate the 199th anniversary of the wrecking of the Belinda vessel near Esperance on 19 July 1824, Western Australian Museum and Curtin University released a digital 3D model of this sealing vessel.

The model enables researchers and the public virtual access to this remote and significant archaeological site and to learn more about Western Australia’s early maritime history.

Using a technique known as photogrammetric 3D reconstruction, the new 3D model of Belinda allows the wreck site to be explored and studied in much greater detail than ever before, including via the use of new visualisation technologies such as virtual reality or 3D printing.

Created from the WA Museum’s records of an archaeological excavation conducted more than 30 years ago, the wreck model can be panned, rotated, and zoomed as a 3D object and examined from any angle.

The WA Museum discovered the wreck site in 1989 and excavated it between 1989 and 1991, gathering overlapping black and white photographs that were used at the time to create a 2D photomosaic. The Curtin University HIVE has now used the photography to create the digital 3D model of the wreck.

Built at Yarmouth, UK, the brig arrived at Hobart in 1823 after a disastrous voyage from England. After three months of subsequent repair, Belinda sailed to Sydney bound for the south coast of Western Australia to hunt for seals.

Although there are no direct survivor reports, we know that the Belinda wrecked near Middle Island in the Recherche Archipelago, 120km east of Esperance, on 19 July 1824.

The Belinda 3D model project was funded through the Commonwealth Government’s Underwater Cultural Heritage Program.

The digital 3D model of the wreck can be explored here: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/belinda-1824-v2-a4e67934f3a54d2bb730ce77de157341

More information about the Belinda is available on the Museum's shipwreck databases: https://museum.wa.gov.au/maritime-archaeology-db/wrecks/belinda