Abstract
The light cruiser Protector, built 1884, served as an Australian naval asset for 40 years. Decommissioned from the Royal Australian Navy in 1924, it was subsequently converted into a lighter. The vessel re‐entered military service during the Second World War, but was involved in a collision, condemned, and ultimately installed as a breakwater on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. While much of Protector's military career is well documented, little is known of its conversion and adaptation to civilian roles. What follows is a discussion of efforts to archaeologically document Protector's surviving hull and identify signatures of adaptive reuse indicative of its post‐military career.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 423-440 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Battleship
- post-military
- breakwater
- Protector
- Australian warship
- warship
- navy
- maritime archaeology
- vessel reuse
- Protector, Australia