Side Scan Sonar used to locate HMS Beagle anchor near Darwin

An anchor belonging to Charles Darwin’s ship is believed to have been found in a remote river in the Northern Territory, strengthening a key link between the European discovery of Australia and the origins of humankind. It was found almost 179 years to the day after the Beagle’s crew was forced to abandon it in a remote and hostile, but astonishingly beautiful, part of the country.

BlueZone Group has assisted in the location of the anchor with loan of a side scan sonar to the search team. The expedition in October 2017 utilised towed sidescan & magnetometer systems. This method was successful but difficult to operate in the extreme currents and tides of the Victoria River. The return expedition plans to use hi-resolution Multibeam Echo Sounder.

The ship HMS Beagle (made famous by Charles Darwin) lost its anchors on the Victoria River in the remote Northern Territory of Australia in 1839. The search was the fourth attempt to find the location of the Beagle anchors.The anchor lays in approximately 10 metres depth approximately 100 metres from where the Beagle crew marked where the anchors were lost in 1839. The “shank” length of the feature identified is approximately 2.6-2.8m long, and width approximately 1m from “fluke to fluke” matching very closely the dimensions of [the smaller] one of the anchors lost by the Beagle in 1839 – 2.7 x 0.9m. The larger anchor remains undiscovered and is likely to be within 50 metres of the smaller.

The anchors are the last remaining fragments of the Ship and amongst the most important maritime archaeological objects in the world – the narrative around the Beagle and its exploits in the Northern Territory are meticulously recorded, making the anchors not only important in the discovery and naming of the city of Darwin but also its strategic and historical importance to the colonisation of Australia from the north and the imperial exploits of Britain in the 19th century.

Survey Vessels in the Victoria River – the currents on the Victoria River run at up to six knots and there are crocodiles are in large numbers.

Side Scan Sonar Data enabled location of the anchor from HMS Beagle on the fourth attempt to search.