Tall ship "Defender"

I first saw the Defender a couple of years ago when she was moored in Ross creek next to Townsville's Museum of Tropical Queensland.

It's rakish masts, rounded stern and classical deck layout and rig were designed and built during the peak of the age of commercial sail, sometime in the 1890's. She had sailed thousands of miles north along the east coast of Australia, from her home port of  Launceston, Tasmania.

Defender moored alongside the Tropical Museum in Townsville, 2014

A genuine classic gaff ketch rigged wooden trading vessel, the hull over 100 foot long, It is the last ship of it's heritage and lineage remaining in Australia.

Defender sailing in the WhitSunday's, about a decade ago

She  still seemed in reasonable shape in 2015, though mothballed with the sails and some running rigging etc removed to keep them out of the sun and in need of a paint. It did look like she was slowly deteriorating in the harsh tropical sun. I read that she was chartered in the WhitSundays for some years previously but had an engine room fire, so had been in Townsville harbour for about 6 years,

Then one night in early 2016 "Defender" sank at the mooring.

Defender shortly after sinking

Here is one of ABC news stories about the sinking and possible Resurrection of Defender. 
But there has been a lengthy legal case about who actually owns her and who is responsible for salvaging, which kept her on the bottom of the harbour.

Last week, after 11 months on the bottom,  Defender was re-floated from is watery grave by a professional dive salvage team backed with government funding.

Salvage experts built a steel frame around hull and lifted with airbags, then pumps.

She was hauled out on a slipway, a safer location should a cyclone hit this season. Nearly a years worth of marine growth, mud and harbour gunk covered everything. I'm guessing that a marine survey will be carried out.

 What caused the sinking? Perhaps a corroded sea-cock, a faulty bilge pump system,   teredo worms  or a sprung plank? Vandalism was quoted as the cause of the sinking, one observer noted that allot of bilge pumping was happening while moored at the museum. Did the vandals disable the pumps?

This turns out to be the last time i saw "Defender" in 2016

2017 - I took a look at the slipway and Defender's hull was gone. Turns out she has been quietly dismantled. Some salvaged parts are to be restored and displayed in the Townsville Maritime Museum.

There was almost no media coverage of her final death knell. Only a couple of articles found eg - Sunk Defender Dismantled by Queensland Government. A slow sad end to a once fine tall ship.


R.I.P. "Defender" - The last of the Bass Straight ketches.