Thirty Years of Managing the Wreck of the Historic Australian Colonial-Built Schooner Clarence (1841–1850): From Ineffective to Pro-active Management

Since its discovery in the early 1980s, the nineteenth-century Australian colonial-built schooner Clarence has undergone more extensive research and investigation than any other historic vessel located within Victoria’s jurisdictional waters. Although early managerial approaches were well intentioned, those in-situ preservation methods employed proved ineffective and in some circumstances had an adverse effect, resulting in a significant loss of the archaeological integrity in a short 30-year period. As such, this paper outlines the knowledge gained due to both managerial successes and failures over the last 30 years, discusses the long-term applications of the applied methodologies and highlights the importance of environmental assessments, ongoing active management and the application of pro-active in-situ preservation methods.