Shipwreck Databases Western Australian Museum

Wreck Inspection Report. The Fascine unidentified wreck Nellie

Author/s M. McCarthy

Year of publication 1997

Report Number: 135

Abstract:
In December 1997, the Gascoyne Development Commission advised the Maritime Archaeology Department of the Western Australian Maritime Museum that a dredge involved in the deepening of Carnarvon's Fascine had unearthed what appeared to be an intact shipwreck. In believing that Ihe wreck may that of the schooner Nellie and that it may prove of present and future historic value to the town and to its people, the Commission provided the Maritime Museum with assistance in order to conduct an inspection of the site.

The inspection indicates that the wreck is most Ilkely that of the Nellie (I g94<.I920), a former Broome and Shark Bay pearler, which sank whilst engaged in the fishing industry out of Carnarvon. Though the stem of the wreck: has been greatly affected (if not entirely destroyed) by the dredging process, the wreck: is considered of significance to Ihe North-West and though it cannot be protected under current shipwreck legislation, recommendations are made for the management of the site so that it can remain as a potential asset to the region.