Metal detected

HMS Pandora was rediscovered in 1977. An RAAF plane using a magnetometer (a type of metal detector) detected the ship’s iron cannons and anchors on the site. The first archaeological survey was in 1979, followed by a further nine expeditions in the 80s and 90s.

Still, only about one third of the seabed in which the wreck is buried has been excavated, leaving approximately 350 cubic metres for any future excavations.

Illustration showing prisoners trying to escape the wreck. From the Ron Coleman Archive, Australian National Maritime Museum collection

Pacific Pompeii

Archaeologists have compared Pandora to Pompeii – like the Roman city, life on the ship also came to a sudden halt following a catastrophe. Pompeii was destroyed by an earthquake and then covered by a layer of volcanic ash; Pandora sank after hitting a reef and was covered by a layer of sand. The layers covering both perfectly preserved what lay beneath.

Queensland Museum Archaeologist Peter Gesner said:

It was like entering a room which had been locked for 200 years

Pandora is a fascinating time-capsule of life on board a late-18th-century British ship sent to search the Pacific.