But
to mariners, Smith’s Rock has a more dubious reputation, having claimed three
ships on its hidden jagged peaks – the most famous of these being the Aarhus.The Aarhus was a 640 tonne iron sailing barque that was built in Hamburg in 1875. The ship cut a fine figure with its three masts and long bowsprit, and was 52m in length. On the 24th of February 1894, after a three-month voyage from New York, the Aarhus arrived off Cape Moreton, not far from its final destination of Brisbane. The Captain signalled to the nearby lighthouse to send out a pilot, so they could be safely guided into Moreton Bay. The pilot boat was launched from inside Moreton Bay, however rough seas prevented it from reaching the Aarhus.
Seeing the pilot boat return into the bay, the Captain decided to take the Aarhus back out into deeper water for the night. This turned out to be a fatal mistake, as returning to the safety of deep water took the Aarhus right over the top of Smith’s Rock. The jagged peaks ripped apart its hull, and only 12 minutes later the ship was resting on the bottom.
Today the Aarhus is listed as a historic shipwreck and a permit is required to dive on the site. Fortunately, one of Brisbane’s most popular charter boats, Nautilus, has a permit and regularly dive the Aarhus on their special wreck diving trips. On these trips retired Maritime Archaeologist Warren Daleny is usually onboard Nautilus to give a history of the ship and talk about other shipwreck sites off Brisbane that may be dived on the day.
Over the years we have on
ly
dived the Aarhus a few times, as you need calm seas to anchor at the
site. Even then there is usually a current sweeping over the wreck site, so it
is not a dive for inexperienced divers. But the times we have explored the wreck
we have enjoyed great visibility, generally around 20m to 30m.The Aarhus lies on a sandy bottom in 21m and if the anchor is set correctly, on the sand beside the wreck, you should be able to see most of ship spread out in front of you as you descend. The iron hull ship is completely broken up, with much of the hull structure under the sand, but every time you dive the wreck it looks slightly different depending on sand movements.
The most prominent feature on the wreck is part of the bow structure, with the bowsprit still in place. Check the end of the bowsprit as a brown banded catshark lives here. An old anchor hangs over the bowsprit that was once used for a mooring. This served as a warning to other ships as the Aarhus’s masts were a hazard just under the surface – these where unfortu
nately
blown off by explosives during World War II.A 6m length of the bow hull sticks up proud off the bottom with its outer face covered in soft corals, while the inner side shelters pufferfish, sweetlips, wobbegongs, lionfish, gropers and schools of cardinalfish. Around here you will see some of the general cargo the ship was carrying, with rolls of barbwire being the most easy to recognise. With shifting sands other cargo and personal items can be exposed, such as sewing machines and old documents. But remember this is a historic site, so no touching, only photos.
As you head towards the stern you will see hatch covers, wagon wheels and other parts of the hull structure. If you can dive with Warren Daleny grab the chance, as he will point out items of interest around the cargo and hull, though some of the items are difficult to make out as they are covered in algae.
On the western side of the wreck one of the three masts remains half buried in the sand. By following this mast to the very end you will come across the crows nest and possibly a groper keeping lookout from it.
The Aarhus wreck site is very compact and in 20 minutes you can see most points of interest, but one of the features of the shipwreck is the great marine life that hangs around the site. On the sand are usually stingrays and estuary gropers, and occasionally a larger Queensland groper can be seen. Amongst the wreckage are crayfish, wobbies, scorpionfish, moray eels and a mix of invertebrate species. A good collection of reef and pelagic fish also hang around the wreck, making the Aarhus always a fascinating dive.
Other wrecks that Nautilus explore on their wreck diving trips are the Cementco, Marietta Dal, Curtin Artificial Reef and the Tangalooma Wrecks, all of which are brilliant Brisbane dives.