Marine Life Society of
South Australia Inc.
Newsletter
August 2008 No. 357
“understanding,
enjoying & caring for our oceans”
Next Meeting
The next General Meeting
will be held on Tuesday the 19th August.
This will be held at the Adventure Blue
clubrooms on the Patawalonga frontage at 8.00pm. Please enter via the
stairs at the side of the building. If you cannot find us on the night then
phone me on 0407395566 and I will give you directions.
Our speaker, Rob Tucker who is the
DEH Project Manager for Adelaide’s Living Beaches, will discuss the problems
and possible solutions for the problems facing Adelaide’s beaches. Come along
and see if you can get all your questions answered.
CONTENTS
DEH News Release 30 June 2008: Robot brings results from
the depths
“Why I want to get into digital underwater
photography” (David Muirhead)
Captain Swiggs (& some of the ships associated
with him and his family) (Steve Reynolds)
2009 MLSSA
Calendar
2009 Calendar
Look at the last item to get an idea as to how splendid our new calendar
looks. I know we say it every year but this really is the best one we have
produced.
Much thanks must go to Phill McPeake for all the hours he spent on the design
and putting it together.
The cost will still be $6 for members and $10 to non members in spite of
increased printing costs.
Chris Thomas
Manager Coast and Marine Conservation
Phone 8124 4884 Mobile 0427 024 579
Charles Maddison
Media & PR Manager Corporate Communications
Phone 8204 2123 Mobile 0423 827 613
Robot brings results
from the depths
An underwater robot retrieved more than a quarter of a million images totalling 1.25 terabytes of data from the ocean floor off
Eyre Peninsula during last week’s scientific expedition led by the Department
for Environment and Heritage (DEH).
DEH was one of two South Australian groups to win access to the Integrated
Marine Observing System’s (IMOS) nation-wide pool of resources, giving DEH
marine scientists the extraordinary opportunity to use the Autonomous
Underwater Vehicle (AUV).
A team of robotics experts from the University of Sydney joined the DEH
marine scientists for the six-day trip on board the SARDI marine research
vessel Ngerin.
The AUV was deployed in 10 locations around Reevsby, Partney, Spillsby,
Kirkby, Stickney and Langton Islands and Dangerous Reef.
DEH’s Coast and Marine Conservation Manager Chris Thomas said using the AUV
allowed the scientists to collect data at a much faster rate than using normal
survey techniques.
“It allows us to cover the same areas in less than a quarter of the time it
would take with our usual tactics and survey areas that are outside our usual
depth range,” Mr Thomas said.
“Using the AUV also means there are many less dangers and difficulties than
sending divers into the water, particularly in areas like Dangerous Reef which
is known for its high shark population.
“During this expedition the AUV took two high resolution photographs every
second and travelled about 2m above the sea floor.
“These images provide continual coverage of the ocean floor which can be
used to answer a range of research questions.
“The robotics engineers will collate the data and create three dimensional
mosaics which we will use to help create habitat maps of the sea floor,” Mr
Thomas said.
These maps will help inform the design of South Australia’s 19 marine
parks, several of which will be located in the Spencer Gulf.
The AUV forms part of the larger $6.4 million Southern Australia IMOS which
is being run by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI)
and Flinders University.
Further information about the Government’s commitment to caring for the
marine environment is available from the DEH website
http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/coasts.html or by phoning the DEH Coast
and Marine Conservation Branch on 8124 4900.
Images of the robot, and others taken from the robot, are available by
contacting Angela Gray on 8124 4909 or
Gray.Angela@saugov.sa.gov.au
Dive Log Australasia Digital
Camera Competition
“Why I want to get into digital underwater photography”
by David Muirhead
Digital, schmigital!! So I believed, cocooned smugly in my ivory tower, built on 3 decades of passionate underwater slide photography of “The Unique South”’s stunning marine biodiversity. Why bother updating to digital, when I was getting such great results with my trusty housed SLR and old Nikonos 11?
But then I
volunteered for a South Australian Museum Marine Invertebrates ‘live aboard’
expedition on Kangaroo Island’s North Coast – and my world changed forever. The
Curator used a housed digital camera and after each dive, while sipping hot
chocolate, he’d download the shots onto his laptop. By dinnertime not only
would he be busy identifying and cataloguing the pictures but he’d have burned
the day’s best shots onto a CD and handed it to the skipper as a memento.
When I walked
off the boat a week later, fingers crossed, I carried a little bag filled with
undeveloped rolls of film – whereas the Curator knew exactly what he had: no
ifs, buts or maybes. Need I say more…?!
Captain Swiggs (& some of the ships associated with him and his family)
by Steve Reynolds
Captain Thomas Swiggs was a respected resident of Birkenhead for more than
fifty years. He was also a freemason and he assisted in the formation of the
first Masonic Lodge at Port Adelaide. Swiggs also served as a councillor on the Birkenhead Council and he featured in a
photograph in the book “Back to Semaphore” as a “Pioneer Portonian”.
He and his wife Elizabeth had 12 children altogether, although three children
died at an early age. Many more ‘Portonians’ (and
other South Australians) were later born as a result of Swiggs’ family.
The Origins Of The ‘Swiggs’ Name
According to “History of Names”, the surname “Swiggs” is of German origin.
It can apparently be traced back to the former duchy of Swabia, which is now
the modern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The name is said to mean “son of
Schwind”. “Schwind” is said
to be a diminutive of first names, such as Schweibold,
Swindbercht, and Schweifer,
which are apparently derived from the Old High German “swind”,
meaning “strong”.
Heinrich Swigger of
Konstanz in the foothills of the northern Swiss mountains in 1255 is said to be
the ‘forefather’ of the Swiggs name. Most surnames have undergone changes in
spelling and pronunciation over the years, even between father and son. “Swigger”, for example, may have become Schwick,
Swick, Schwich, Schwigh, Schwigg, Schwigger, Schwiger, Swigger, Schwiech, Schwick, Swicker, Swick and Schwig.
The Ancient Arms Of “Swiggs”
The Arms ‘design’ is said to be “The Ancient Arms of Swiggs” (coat of
arms*).
* (A coat of
arms is said to be ‘heraldic bearings’. ‘Bearings’ can be described as charge,
device, design or figure.)
Captain Swiggs was born Thomas William (Bowden) Swiggs* on 27th
May 1820 at Oreston (near Plymouth) in Devonshire,
England.
* (This is the name found on four records of his children.)
He was baptized on 10th September 1820. He went on to become an
apprentice in the shipbuilding yard of a Mr Hunt at Cattedown,
Plymouth. He spent some seven years at the shipbuilding yard. He later made two
voyages to Prince Edward Island (Canada).
HMS Tortoise
On 21st May
1844, he joined the Royal Navy as a Chief Carpenter’s Mate (a shipwright). He
was appointed to Ascension Island (in the South Atlantic Ocean) where he
apparently served on HMS Tortoise. He must have spent some time on HMS Tortoise
previously because he is said to have served on her from 1841 to 1st
December 1846.
According to the
web page found at
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~tcowley/Ships.htm#Tortoise
, HMS Tortoise was a 1000-ton naval ship. She made one trip to Hobart,
Tasmania (Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land) as a convict transport. Departing
from Plymouth, England on 26th October 1841, she took 116 days
(without stopping) to reach Hobart Town on 19th February 1842.
“She embarked 400 male prisoners of which three were re-landed and three died
on the voyage. Thus 394 male convicts were disembarked at Hobart.”
It is quite
possible (probable) that Swiggs was onboard HMS Tortoise for this voyage
to Hobart Town.
According to
Leonie Leete Smith at
http://www.geocities.com/bleyshan41/leyshon/tortoise.html
, “HMS Tortoise began life in 1805 as a stores ship for the East India
Company and was originally named Sir Edward Hughes. The ship undertook
eight voyages before being presented to the Admiralty in 1806. . . The ship was
made of teak, had a gross tonnage of 962 tons, a keel of 118 feet and beam of
39 feet. In 1809, the vessel was renamed Tortoise and saw service in the
Mediterranean in 1812 and at Gibraltar in 1813 . (and) . . served at St. Helena in
1817 during Napoleon's exile there. . . From 1820 to 1838, the Tortoise
was back in English waters, first in Plymouth and then at Milford. During November
1824, it became a coal hulk and in August 1841 a store hulk.
. . In September 1841, the Tortoise sailed from Spithead, Portsmouth . .
. and departed Plymouth on October 26th with 394* male prisoners
from varying hulks and prisons. . . . The tonnage is now stated as 1000 tons
and the ship is mounted with 2 guns. . . On February 19th 1842, the Tortoise
arrived in Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land. . . . the
Ship left England with 651 Souls on board . . . (and) some of the convicts,
& all the soldiers, women & children were 27 weeks on board. . . Three deaths occurred during the passage, all
convicts. From 1845, the Tortoise . . .
served as a stores ship at Ascension Island. . . . The order came on
October 18th 1859 to break up the ship. . . . off
North Point, Ascension Island . . .”
* The number that disembarked. (A
total of 4334 convicts are said to have arrived (at Hobart Town) in the colony
of Van Diemen's Land in that year, 1842.)
This (10p)
postage stamp featuring HMS Tortoise was issued by Ascension Island on
17th November 1980
(Taken from http://www.geocities.com/bleyshan41/leyshon/tortoise.html)
HMS Tortoise
is said to have been successful in its orders to suppress the black African
slave trade (whilst Swiggs was aboard?).
Swiggs is said
to have served under Sir Charles Hotham, Commodore of the West Coast of Africa,
whilst on Ascension Island. In June 1854, Sir Charles replaced Charles La Trobe
as Lieutenant Governor of Victoria. The Eureka Stockade at Ballarat
occurred during Hotham’s appointment. He resigned as
Lieutenant Governor of Victoria in November 1855 and died just one month later,
on 31st December that same year.
Swiggs is believed to have married his wife Elizabeth (nee Heckett or Hackett*) on 14th May 1848. Elizabeth
was born in October 1821.
* (Although descendants of the family have long thought that her surname
was “Heckett”, “Elizabeth Ann Hackett” is the name
found on four records of their children. My article titled “Captain Thomas
Swiggs” in the February 2007 issue of the “MLSSA Newsletter” stated that
Elizabeth’s surname was “Hackett”. There are no ‘Heckett’s’
whatsoever in the Adelaide White Pages telephone directory but there are a few
‘Hackett’s’ in it.)
Swiggs and his wife had already had a daughter earlier in 1848. Marian
Elizabeth Swiggs was born on Ascension Island on 29th February 1848.
The following year, after leaving the Navy, Swiggs and his family migrated from
England to South Australia.
Asiatic
They sailed onboard the
506-ton barque Asiatic, which left from London on 4th
September 1849, under the command of Captain AS Waddell. The dimensions of the Asiatic
were 109’9” in length, 25’4” in width and 19’5” in depth. The ship sailed via
Plymouth (where, it is assumed, Swiggs and his family joined the ship) carrying
a cargo of firebricks.
A passenger list for the Asiatic’s trip
commencing from London on 4th September 1849 is available at http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/fh/passengerlists/1849Asiatic.htm
(see Appendix 1). It shows that the Asiatic arrived at Port Adelaide on
26th December 1849 with 160 passengers (13 cabin passengers, 8
‘intermediate’ passengers and 139 ‘passengers in steerage’) before sailing on
to Port Phillip (Victoria).
(As far as I can determine, the names of each of Thomas William Swiggs, his
wife Elizabeth Swiggs (nee Heckett or Hackett) and
their daughter Marian Elizabeth Swiggs ought to be on this passenger list. They
don’t, however, appear to be on the list at first
glance. Thomas William Swiggs could, however, be listed as either William Twigg or Thomas Twiggs (and wife). But then his wife,
Elizabeth Swiggs (nee Heckett or Hackett), could be
listed as Elizabeth Hackett (who may have been travelling in conjunction with
an Emma Hackett). But what then of their daughter, Marian Elizabeth Swiggs who
would have been almost two years old at the time? She doesn’t seem to rate a
mention whatsoever.)
According to the web page
found at
http://oceans1.customer.netspace.net.au/austrun-wrecks.html,
just six months later, in June 1950, the Asiatic was returning to London
from Adelaide, loaded with wool, wheat and copper ore, when she ran into a
severe storm whilst approaching the South African coast. Battling to remain afloat, the barque
eventually struggled into Algoa Bay. In a stiff south
easterly, she parted her cables on 9th June and went ashore. Three
lives were lost.
Living At
Birkenhead
According to the web page
found at
http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/fh/passengerlists/adelaide.htm
, approx. 308 ships arrived in ‘Adelaide’ in 1849. Immigration recorded for the
year was 16,166 persons and emigration figures for that year were 2,694
persons. The population estimate for ‘Adelaide’ as at 31st
December 1849 was 52,904 persons.
The Swiggs family settled at Birkenhead (near Port Adelaide) in South
Australia. Thomas Swiggs and Elizabeth had another 11 children together,
including two sets of twins, between 1851 and 1869, whilst residing at
Birkenhead. Three of the (two sets of) twins, however, died at an early age.
Swiggs’ Slips
Swiggs
established a boat building business on the northern shore of the Port River at
Birkenhead. This shipyard became known as “Swiggs’ Slips”. Its location was on
the site of what was to become Birkenhead Wharf E & F. It was therefore
located opposite Berth 18 at Ocean Steamers Wharf (near No.2 Dock).
As a registered
ship owner, Swiggs earned the title of Captain. He became qualified as a Master
Mariner (for Fore & Aft sailing) on 18th August 1874.
Through his
shipyard, Swiggs built and owned several sailing vessels, including the
schooners Albert, Omeo and Otter.
Albert
Swiggs is said
to have built the Albert, a two-masted, 19-ton wooden schooner, in 1863.
Her dimensions were 45.8’ long, 12.4’ wide and 5.7’ depth. She had one deck, a
square stern and was carvel built (with planks flush with the side). Swiggs
registered her that same year (1863) and spent the next year (1864) serving on
her. Her registry was transferred to Thomas Wilson of Kangaroo Island in March
1875. Just two months later, in June 1875, she was wrecked at KI’s Antechamber Bay.
The schooner was
anchored about 100yards from the shore in the southwestern corner of
Antechamber Bay on 7th June 1875 whilst Wilson and Thomas Tostaven went ashore there. When they returned, later that
night, they found her badly holed on rocks. She had parted from her moorings
and drifted on to the jagged rocks. She was half full of water and the slight
seas were breaking over her.
According to
“Kangaroo Island Shipwrecks” by Gifford D Chapman, local residents helped
Wilson and Tostaven to salvage equipment and gear the
next day. Peter Christopher’s book “South Australian Shipwrecks – A Data Base
1802-1989” says that the vessel herself was not, however, salvaged.
Interestingly,
Christopher’s book gives the date of the incident as 17th June
instead of the 7th. “Ketches of South Australia” by Ronald Parsons
says that the Albert was “stranded and became a total wreck . . . June
7”. Again, interestingly, Parsons says that the vessel had been built by “Thos.Twiggs”.
(Details
regarding the wreck of the Albert can be found on the web page of
Australia's National Shipwrecks database at http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/heritage/nsd/nsd_form.pl?search_id=2505.
Australia's National Shipwrecks database is a searchable database of Australian
shipwrecks.)
John MacDouall Stuart?
Parsons’ book
also says that a wooden two-masted fore and aft schooner called the John MacDouall Stuart had been built by a “Mr Twigg” in Port Adelaide in 1861. I dare to suggest that ‘Mr
Twigg’ may actually be Thomas Swiggs (who may have
built the John MacDouall Stuart). Her
dimensions were 35 tons, 57’8” long, 15’3” wide and 7’7” deep. She too had one
deck and was carvel built. Her stern, however, was elliptic (oval-shaped). John
Walker and Son had owned her until she was sold to a Melbourne owner in 1863.
She was eventually broken up and her register was closed in 1918.
To Be Continued
