All language subtitles for S02E06. White Gold Wreck - Occator

When I'm
underwater on Ningaloo,

I feel, like, this amazing sense
of calmness and acceptance.

I don't experience
it anywhere else,

and it's something that I've
experienced ever since I was a child.

It's my greatest
feeling of home.

This is my favorite
place to dive

because of the amazing coral structures
and the world that grows around that,

from the tiny,
intricate little fish

all the way up to the big fish
like parrotfish and buff bream.

You see reef sharks, rays.

There's amazing megafauna in the
big blue on the back of the reef.

And what I love about
this spot in particular

is a friendly turtle that
always comes and says hello.

Ningaloo is so beautiful, but
it's also incredibly dangerous.

We have countless
shipwrecks on this reef,

some discovered and some
waiting to be discovered.

In the archives, we've actually
found a pretty wild story of a wreck.

It was a group of sailors
who came to find riches,

but they came unstuck.

The name is Occator,
wrecked in 1856,

and I really want to find where
she's laying out on the reef

and unravel the story of the
crew that goes along with it.

On the beautiful but
treacherous Ningaloo Reef...

It almost
knocked you out.

A story of greed...

Occator was on the
search for white gold.

Tragic mistakes...

Flinders obviously
set a booby trap.

And desperation.

That water was,
like, life or death.

Searching
for a ship...

I just got a hit.

...at the center of an
extraordinary maritime misadventure.

There's something
sticking out of the water.

It looks very shipwreck-like.

Awesome.

I'm so excited.

Like, the prospect of finding an
undiscovered wreck at Ningaloo,

-it's unreal.
-Yeah.

It's our backyard.

What if it's been right under
our nose the whole time?

Yeah, but it's still a lot
of area for us to search.

-Oh, definitely.
-That's why we need a team.

Sad that Johnny's not
going to be able to join us.

Hopefully he feels
better later in the week.

With Johnny out
of action for a few days,

Nush and Andre are meeting the
rest of the shipwreck hunters

at the tip of North West Cape.

Spanning 260 kilometers
along its edge

is Ningaloo, one of the longest
fringing reefs in the world.

Nush has also asked an old friend,
Annie Boyd, to join the mission.

Author and shipwreck hunter, she's
an expert on the wrecks of Ningaloo.

I'm looking
forward to the search.

I'm always excited about the
prospect of a significant discovery.

We have good chances of
finding something special.

On
January 12th, 1856,

cargo ship Occator left Melbourne,
the capital of Victoria,

with an empty hull, bound for the remote
Muiron Islands in Western Australia.

But 24 days later,

near dawn, Occator smashed
into Ningaloo reef.

This is her.
This is the Occator.

-Oh. Wow.
-That's a ripper.

The Occator was traveling
up the Ningaloo coast

on the search for what
was called white gold.

Yeah, white gold. A little bit of
euphemism for guano or bird poo.

You know, they sailed
around the continent

because they heard a rumor

that there was a guano deposit eight
feet thick on the Muiron Islands.

That's a lot of bird poo.

That's a lot of bird poo.

Yeah, but it's pretty
valuable, pretty pricey.

Yeah. It was worth a huge amount in
the colony to keep poor soil viable.

I think they even
used it for gunpowder.

Yep. The crazy thing was,

they passed a whole lot of islands on
the way that are very rich in guano,

but they had their sight
set on the Muiron Islands,

which are out this way.

At 3:00 in the morning, with no
expectation of seeing breakers,

suddenly, the ship ran up
hard on the Ningaloo reef

somewhere along this strip.

-Yeah.
-Did they lose any?

No, they all survived.

So we had Captain Place, a
crew of nine, and Joseph Jones.

Now, he's listed as a
passenger on many reports,

but he was more than that.

He was actually the one that
commissioned the voyage,

so maybe he was the one pushing
everyone that extra yard

to get to the Muiron Islands.

'Cause he stood to make
the most money, right?

Exactly, yeah.
Such a crazy story,

and they were so lucky to
survive the wrecking event

but, really, it was only the
start of their misadventures.

In the middle
of the 19th century,

guano was a prized
global commodity.

Used mainly as a fertilizer,

it fueled an agricultural boom

and a new type of fortune
hunter, like Joseph Jones,

who commissioned Occator for
what would be its final voyage.

You know, we've got
some good targets for...

You know, it's a fair strip
of reef we've got to look at.

So we've got a lot of information
about this wreck already.

But where is the
best spot to start?

It's a big question,

but let's take one step back
to what the crew actually said

about where they believe
the wreck had occurred.

Fifty-six nautical miles
from the Muiron Islands.

But here's the catch...

And with shipwreck hunting,
there's always a catch.

They said they escaped with
some navigational instruments,

but they were damaged in the process of
getting into the lifeboat or the longboat.

So you cannot trust
it, literally.

We could be looking anywhere
from Oyster Stacks in the north

all the way down to
Carbaddaman Passage.

-Yep.
-So it's a big area.

-It is a big area. I'm just picturing...
-It could be anywhere.

So I'm pretty excited to show you guys
an email from our friend, Ray De Jong,

that he sent to the
WA Museum in 2014.

And it's the GPS
coordinates and photos

of some artifacts he found that have
obviously come off a wreck. So, um...

-Can I have a look?
-Yeah, of course you can.

That's a big bronze pin.

Oh, my God, look at that one.

-Mate, it's almost 400 mil long.
-Looks like it.

-That's definitely been...
-If you go back one photo,

that's definitely the curve of the
inside of a hull, I think, isn't it?

And look underneath the curve.

There's some fastenings
for, like, hull planking.

That's definitely the
shape of a hull of a boat,

-and it looks like a pretty big boat.
-So cool. Yeah.

Well, it's a good start,

because we know that Occator was
a wooden ship, but iron-framed.

And it would have had bronze fastenings
as well, so it's the right kind of stuff.

Yeah, and this was found on the beach
sort of near this South Mandu Creek area.

-Okay.
-How exciting is that?

It's like we've got this clue, and
now we've got to work backwards

to figure out where the
wreck might actually be.

Yes, this is our best clue.

Let's start with that
and see what we can find.

By combining
historical records

with more recent sightings
of potential wreckage,

the team has three
separate target areas.

However, together, they create

a challenging
35-kilometre-long search zone.

So this is it. Mission is on.

We've got all the kit,

skis are coming down,
boats are loaded,

and conditions are looking
really, really good.

We think we've got a
really good chance.

Today we could make a discovery.

Give us that. Cheers, Annie.

All righty, let's go.

The shipwreck hunters are
motoring nearly 30 kilometers south

to their first target
at Mandu Mandu Creek.

This is where the shipwreck material
in the 2014 photographs was found.

Conditions are perfect
for the search.

It's just, hopefully, we
get there in one piece

without damaging
the boat or crew.

We're on low tide, so even
though we're in a jet boat,

it draws a bit of water.

So just all these
bommies just pop out,

and because it's pretty flat,
they just pop out of nowhere.

So you just got to be a bit
careful. Especially at this speed.

We need to stop, mate.

It's so close, but we just can't
get through that shallow bit.

How's it look?

Yeah, it's not looking
good. It's not looking good.

You don't think
we'll get through?

-Not at the moment, not with this tide.
-Yep.

We've just hit a
really shallow zone,

and the skis are going to have
to go ahead and search the lagoon

to try and get up
to our targets.

We're not sure, at the moment,

we're gonna be able to
get there in this boat,

'cause the coral stands
up so much in some areas,

and the tide's just too low.

And you really
want to be thinking

those nice, light,
skinny thoughts

when you're going over the reef.

While Andre and Ryan
look for a way through the reef,

Annie and Ash explore
how Captain Place

could have got Occator
into so much trouble.

Now, this crew did some things

that didn't really speak of
a high level of seamanship.

They were sailing
in the mid-1800s.

You would presume that the boat had
the best available chart at the time,

which is basically this
one, from about 1820.

Now, it's got the coast
almost exactly right.

But if they had a map that was based
on the work of Matthew Flinders,

there's a very big difference.

Have a look at this.

The red line here

-is the modern coastline.
-Yep.

There's a
15-mile difference.

It turns out Matthew Flinders
didn't chart this coast at all.

He stole the entire outline
of this part of the coast

from the Dutch chart
that dated from 1697.

The result was that an error made
in 1697 got passed into this map,

and was still sort of in
circulation in the mid-1800s,

and that's one of the reasons
we have so many wrecks.

Ships were sailing this way
thinking they were safe,

and of course, it didn't show
the main obstacle at all.

Matthew Flinders obviously
set a bit of a booby trap.

So he did.

Captain Place
reportedly told the watch

they would see Ningaloo
reef near dawn,

at a safe distance
of 15 nautical miles.

Instead, they were much closer.

Occator crashed into it.

Andre, Andre, got a copy?

Yeah, Ash. Water's
starting to fill in now.

Tide's getting pretty high.

Whenever you're comfortable,

you will probably be able
to make your way up here.

Righto. I'll check the
tides this end as well,

and you might see me over there.

All right, mate.

Tide's up. I'm pretty confident
we'll get over the reef now.

We're going to head over
and meet up with the team.

With the tide rising,

Ash carefully moves the
boat into the search area.

On the stern of the
boat is Mandu Mandu Creek.

The wreckage was found
right on the beach here.

So it's perfectly reasonable

that there'd be wreckage
spread all over this area.

Nushy, what's the plan?

I think the best thing to
do is to get in the water

and have people line searching,
and just try get a good visual.

-All right.
-Yeah, so, we'll let you know.

Good luck.

The water is
beautiful and clear,

and it's also so shallow,

so it gives me high hopes that
if there is something there,

that we're going to see it.

Ryan and Andre will
use the ski-mounted magnetometer

to scan for signs of metal

that might be buried
under the sand and coral.

Whenever you're ready.

I'm just going to run parallel
lines along the beach.

I'm gonna start shallow, and I'll
just work my way to the west.

That's a great idea.

That's where it's all probably
been washed up by the storms.

Okay, we'll let
you know how we go.

Start our search pattern.

Hopefully we find something.

What is that?

-I think Nush has found something.
-What is it?

I don't know. There's just
this real straight line here.

I don't know what it is.

Well, Nushy just did a dive,

and she's come back up, and she's
like, "I think I got something."

I'll have a look.
I'll try it this way.

Annie uses an
underwater metal detector

to check out the straight line.

How did you all go?

-Just a big bit of driftwood.
-Yeah.

It's not timber
from a ship, right?

So it's just trees.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

We've had a pretty
good look around,

and we were really methodical
around the float at first,

and then just went out to
the surrounds to check.

-Yeah.
-It's one of the only spots on Ningaloo

I've seen so much driftwood
funneled into the one area.

-Yep.
-Yeah.

In 2014, there was a
massive cyclone here.

And this is the same year that

-they found the wreckage on the beach.
-Yeah.

It makes sense why that finally
just got washed up or uncovered.

-Yeah. I think so.
-Yep.

The team doesn't
believe Mandu Mandu Creek

is the site of
the Occator wreck.

I think everyone's still
holding a bit of hope

because this is only the first mark
that we're looking at right now,

and there's a few other marks.

The shipwreck hunters
head home through deep waters

along the outside of the reef.

It's here that, every year,

the world's largest species
of fish comes to feed.

Looks like the shark
is something about a kilometer

north-north-west of
where you guys are.

It's pretty warm
water at the moment.

Overhead, a local pilot
tells the team a whale shark is nearby.

I mean, I've been out here for 20 years,
but I've never seen one in the water.

It's so exciting! We might get you
in with your first whale shark.

We're going to get dropped
a fair distance away,

and the whale shark
will just approach us.

-Yep.
-And then we'll kind of hang back

-behind its pec fins.
-Yep.

And, probably, yeah.

Just try to stay three meters from
the sides and four from the tail.

Hang on. I'll tell
you where, one second.

-Ready?
-Righty-o.

-In you go.
-Going in.

The feeling of swimming next
to a whale shark is indescribable.

You're swimming with an
absolutely huge animal

that is covered in the most
intricate spots and stripe patterns.

But you feel safe because
they are these gentle giants.

They migrate thousands of
kilometers in our oceans

and are found in
most tropical seas.

But there's so little
known about these species.

-Mate!
-Wicked!

-Biggest fish in the sea!
-That was about as good as it gets.

Yeah. That was
absolutely insane.

It's like its own little
ecosystem, the whale shark.

It's like a traveling ecosystem.

Imagine the crew of the Occator
seeing that when they're sailing up.

I wonder what they
used to call them.

Sea monster.

They literally would
have been like, "What the..."

Overnight, conditions on
the reef have changed dramatically.

It means a change of plans.

The west side of the peninsula
is pretty blown out today.

The swell is massive, and, yeah,
the wind's crazy over there,

so I don't think we're going to
be able to do much searching.

Well, there's no way we're getting
in any of these gaps in the reef.

It's just too dangerous.

Well, fortunately, it gives us a
chance to go to another destination

and explore a different
part of the Occator story.

Now you might know from
the wrecking of the Occator

that when they managed
to get a lifeboat away,

they travelled further
north to the Muiron Islands.

A bit odd because
the mission was over.

But they'd made an arrangement
to meet another vessel up there.

So when they got into their
longboat, they thought,

"We're probably okay.

We'll be rescued by the people we
were going to meet on the island."

Is there any guano there?

We'll find out.

Well, let's load up.

All right. Let's
go find some guano.

Get the shovels.

The team is travelling 42
kilometers north to the Muiron Islands.

On arrival, they are met
with the same desolate scene

that confronted
Occator's desperate crew.

Ash, what do you think
the crew would have thought

when they rocked up here?

Uh... Just total devastation
and disappointment.

Not even a hint of guano.

They would have been
absolutely upset.

Yep.

Even though it
doesn't look like it,

this island is actually
a haven for seabirds.

A million wedge-tailed shearwaters
alone migrate around this area.

Yeah, they just don't
poo here, obviously.

Yeah, I guess not.

No guano meant
there would be no rescue ship.

The mission to make a fortune
was now a fight to stay alive.

Well, we know that they
don't have many provisions.

They landed in February. Do we
get rain here in February at all?

You might get lucky. Yeah, you could
get a monsoon or a cyclone come close.

Which'd probably fill up some of
these holes on top of this rock ridge.

You can see the oysters also
lining the high tide mark.

You could have a
little feast on that.

Yeah.

-Do you like oysters, Ry?
-Nah.

If you were starving, it's
not a bad little protein hit.

-Oh, wow.
-Good?

It's sweet, yeah.

We come here to what
looks like an idyllic scene,

but it's not idyllic if
you're in those circumstances.

Nah, I wouldn't be staying
around here for much longer.

I'd be getting the
heck out of here, mate.

They're looking ahead now,
saying, "We've got to survive,"

and their best chance
is at the ship.

Back to the big boat.

I'm really, really keen
to get off this island

-and go and search for it.
-Yeah.

I think we might be up for
an early start tomorrow.

After four
days on the island

with dangerously
little food or water,

the crew of Occator headed
back toward the wreck,

hoping to salvage supplies
to keep them alive.

Another day brings good news
for the shipwreck hunters.

Johnny is well enough to
join the search for Occator.

We've all
been missing you.

-Hello!
-How you guys going?

How's it going?

-It's so good to see you.
-You too.

-Good to have you back.
-Nice of you to join us.

We've become more like a family than
friends over the years, you know,

and if one of us is
missing, you really feel it.

We all have our roles
to play within the team,

so, yeah, it feels nice to
be back with the family.

No luck yet with the search.

We've got some really good
clues, so I'm feeling good.

I'm feeling excited. Just
want to get out there.

-Good spot here.
-I'll let you get out in the water.

We've been searching
for a few days now,

and the weather hasn't
been too kind to us.

Today, the swell's down.

What do you reckon, Andre?

It's looking good, actually.

Looking at the reef, you
can see it's dropped a lot,

so this is our
best chance today.

This morning, we're going
further south a few kilometers

to what's called
Carbaddaman Passage.

And that's going to be
an outer reef search,

if the swell permits.

I know we've said
the swell's dropped,

but we've gone from impossible to marginal
rather than from marginal to good.

So it all depends on how close we
can get to the edge of the reef,

because that's where the things we're
looking for are going to be found.

What's interesting about
Carbaddaman Passage

is that it kind of lines up in the
story and the accounts from the crew,

that the wreck might
be in that location.

Yeah, I think having heaps of eyes
and heaps of time in the water's

-going to help us hugely here as well.
-Yeah.

Well, we haven't had much luck,

so maybe you can bring us
some good fortune, mate.

We're going to find it first
dive, I reckon. Ry, let's go.

Confident.

All right, let's go.

The shipwreck hunters
will now search Carbaddaman Passage.

This stretch of reef lines up
with the survivors' account

of how far they sailed,

when returning to the wreck
from the Muiron Islands.

You can see that reef
sticking out over there.

There's some really
shallow spots.

Yep.

So clear. Jesus.

Hey, Dre, have you got the marks for
the start and the end of the line?

I don't have marks, but
I can just see the reef.

It's pretty flat. We
should get pretty close.

-Yeah.
-Awesome!

-Pretty excited, actually.
-Yeah.

-Let's go then!
-Let's go.

This time, the
three-kilometer search area

is on the exposed
outside of the reef.

The team must push the
ski-mounted magnetometer

as close to the edge as possible
without being swept into it.

It's so remote. There's not
another person in sight.

No other boats around here.

So you can imagine, you
know, in the late 1800s,

it'd be a horrendous
place to wreck your ship.

Even today, you'd be
in a bit of trouble.

Even those small swells,
imagine getting caught in that.

-Yeah.
-It's not great.

Nah. Massive coral bommies
just sticking up off the seafloor,

and just the, the full force
of the West Australian Ocean

just smashing up
against this reef.

That beautiful water
is so clear and clean.

All right, we're on target now.

Okay. All right.

I just got a hit.
Just got a hit right there.

Have we found something? Have
we run into something here?

I don't know.

-The boys got a marker there.
-Huh?

Did you get a good hit?

-Is it good?
-Yeah.

So Johnny threw the the float
in, and it's marked the spot.

Nushy and Dre are just going
to head straight in there now.

And we're just going to
go up, do another lap,

and come back and do
a second pass over it.

Yeah, Jetfire,
Jetfire, copy?

Yeah, mate.

Looks like we got a
bit of a hit, then.

The boys just dropped
the marker float in,

and Nushy's going to
go in and check it out.

Wow, that's awesome, mate.
Um... Fingers crossed.

Well, you know, it'd be a fluke,

but Johnny did say we were going to
find it on the first swim, didn't he?

He did, mate, yeah.

Nush dives
into the impact zone

where the surf hits the outer reef,
investigating the magnetometer mark.

Ryan and Johnny return,
having completed their sweep.

She mustn't have
seen anything yet.

I'm sure she'll let us know
very loudly if she does.

The wind is picking up,

and the sea conditions
are worsening.

It's not the only bad news.

False reading, we reckon.

Nushy checked it out,
couldn't find anything.

What do you reckon we do?

All right, look, I think you
should maybe come back in, mate.

You're getting smashed.

Yeah, sounds good.

Anything would be
better than out here.

Roger roger.

Pretty rough out there
at the moment, eh?

So rough. Wind's just
picked up, intense.

Let's try and get on safely.

The conditions make it
dangerous just getting back aboard.

Johnny.

Just pulled the ladder into
your head. I was like...

Yeah.

There was a solid rope on
it, and it just snapped.

Yeah, the rope snapped, so...

I'd checked it
before I climbed up.

Yep.

-And I snapped it clean.
-It's a bit high up.

I thought for a moment
you were unconscious.

You're
gonna be all right.

Get the super glue on
it as soon as possible.

That way, it'll heal, so the girls
still fall in love with Johnny.

So what was... Was it the
ladder that come down?

Yeah, we came back on the
boat and we hadn't found it,

and Ash just belted
me with the anchor.

Well, Johnny, I reckon you
gave it a good crack, mate,

and I think we've pretty much
searched and searched and searched.

Yeah, we covered a hell
of a lot of ground.

I think we'd say this
section of reef is covered.

There's still some more
to be done further south.

The team
decides to call it a day.

Tomorrow, they will prepare
for their final target

by investigating
another historical lead.

After a grueling journey
back from the Muiron Islands,

as they approach the wreck site,

the exhausted crew of Occator

say they encountered a group of
First Nations people on the beach.

If they can pinpoint
where this happened,

the shipwreck hunters will be one
step closer to finding Occator.

Hi, Hazel.

Nush and Andre are meeting good
friend and local elder Hazel Walgar

at Yardie Creek to
see if she can help.

Beautiful spot, eh?

Yeah, beautiful spot.
We've got some...

There's a
little rock wallaby.

Aw! It's so beautiful!

Amazing.

We've been on this search for
a ship called the Occator,

and it wrecked in 1856,

and there were survivors
that had an interaction

with the indigenous people.

Could this be the place
that they stopped?

Yeah. This was an ideal spot.

We used to come
here, the Yardie mob.

We got fresh water.

Plenty to eat.

Our old people once lived here.

A very significant place for us.

According
to the crew of Occator,

after attempting to retrieve a
barrel of water from the shore line,

they left in a hurry,

Mr. Jones firing
at the local men.

It's really sad of the
outcome of what happened.

It's a barrier of two
different languages.

Our old people, they
never spoke English.

And just imagine if
those mob came onshore

and, without that attitude,

the Yardie people would've took them in
and nurtured them and looked after 'em.

And the best place
for you guys now

is to go out there
and have a look.

Straight out from here,
Yardie Creek, yeah.

And I hope you find what
yous are looking for.

Thanks so much. We'll
definitely let you know how we go.

Hazel has confirmed

indigenous people were
living in this location

when Occator wrecked.

It's possible this is where
the crew made contact.

The shipwreck hunters move
the search for Occator

to the outer reef
at Yardie Creek.

This is the third target spot.

We've crossed out
two, with no luck,

but it's always a fingers crossed
game, and let's just hope it works out.

It also lines
up with other evidence

that points to this location...

Right here.

...as a possible wreck site.

We're right out from
the mouth of the Yardie Creek.

So, very close to an anecdotal
report of ship timber being found

on the edge of the
reef in this vicinity,

under a heavy layer of coral.

By the look of it, we're in
10 to 12 meters of water.

For this crew, that's
free dive able,

but because they want to
spend time on the bottom

and look conscientiously for signs
of wreckage, they're all on scuba.

We're all
just heading down.

We're right on the
outside of the reef.

Let's get started, hey?

Roger that, mate.

Let's hunt for that shipwreck.

It's very
mysterious down here.

There's, like, a
big, rocky mass.

Lots of little
cracks and crevices.

Some really awesome coral
with fish hiding out.

Ryan's just having a bit of
a look in a big crack now.

Johnny's just checking in a few
spots with the metal detector,

with the little hand held metal
detector, poking in all the little holes.

Hopefully we get a ping soon.

Nothing yet, mate.

This coral could
definitely be hiding some secrets.

It's quite thick, hard coral.

So there's no way to sort of look
in some of the cracks between it

because it's so thick.

Working our
way around it now.

After an hour searching
through a maze of dense coral,

the team has run out of options.

I've had a
good detect around here.

No, nah, nothing here
that's standing out.

And they're
running low on air.

Okay, mate, time's up.

Yeah, all right. Let's
go back to the boat.

Okay.

Diver on the surface.

So while you guys were down
there for quite a while,

I thought they've either found
a shipwreck or some wildlife.

But then I thought, if
you'd found a shipwreck,

you would've been straight
up and gone... Oh!

But I reckon it was
just wildlife, again.

It was pretty
spectacular down there.

And you're right. We
were looking at wildlife.

Bang on, Ash.

No anchors, then?

No.

You keep thinking, "What about
over that next coral ridge?"

Like, "What if we
check up there?"

"Bit further south?" You just
can't stop wondering where it is.

It's a lifelong search.

Oh, yeah. It's
the fever, isn't it?

-It is, yeah.
-Yeah.

I feel sorry for you, Annie,

'cause you've put so much effort
into this story, you know?

No, no, don't be like
that. I just feel thankful

that I've got such
a team on hand

to assist with something which was
always going to take a bit of time.

So, okay, we tick off those,
we cross off those options,

and where is the
next most likely?

After their
altercation at Yardie Creek,

the crew of Occator
fled Ningaloo,

sailing 300 kilometers
south in a tiny longboat

to Dirk Hartog Island.

"When they got ashore, they were
so weak they could hardly stand."

There, they found
several turtles,

and by sucking their blood,

"derived nourishment of which
they were in great need."

Look, I can only guess, but
when you're that starved and...

-for water, you'd do anything.
-Yep.

This is still all of them?

Yep, but only by a whisker.

After about 40 days,

there were only two of them who
were capable of sailing the boat.

Now, fortunately, something
happened in their favor.

-They saw another vessel...
-Oh, my God.

...and the two guys who were
capable of sailing the boat

managed to get the boat and
draw attention to their plight.

-Oh, wow.
-And you know

-what the great irony of this story is?
-No.

They were picked up by a
schooner that had loaded guano.

Oh, my God.

The final insult.

We're going to be a wreck
any minute. Look at this.

Yeah.

Get us out of here!

Better lean over here.

We were nearly shipwrecked then.

As the team
begins the long journey home,

Ryan spots something
on the shoreline.

What the hell?

What is that?

I don't know what it is.

Eh?

What do you reckon it is?

The hunt for
Occator might not be over yet.

Yeah, Ash, Ash, you got a copy?

What's up?

Yeah, mate, we've just
seen something on the beach.

Yeah, I can even
see it from here.

Looks very
shipwreck-like.

There's something sticking out
of the water there, too, Ry.

We need to get on the beach,
eh? Maybe we'll just...

There's a little beach there. We
can put the skis on and walk up.

Roger.

-You okay?
-Yeah.

Be careful.

-All right.
-You good?

Hang tight.

What do you reckon?

I could be wrong,
but it's ferrocement.

Looks like
a flange there.

Ash, look
at the corner there.

It looks like it's riveted
in both directions,

and that would date it a
hundred years back at least.

But see how it
tapers down to almost...

Like, this is the
shape of the hull.

-Yeah.
-This is a significant find.

-It is.
-Yeah.

That looks like an
observation port in a boiler.

Oh, yeah, you're right.

It's part of a boiler or the
fire pit underneath or something.

But if it is, it's a steamship.

It's not a sailer, I mean...

But it could be off a
sailing ship like Occator, Annie,

because they had a lot of stuff like
this on ships as well back in the day.

Boilers for powering
winches and stuff like that.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

It's a pity it's getting late in the
day, because this is worth a good look.

Yeah, definitely.
I mean, how...

There's something sticking
out of the water there.

Yeah, there could be more
buried in the dunes. Who knows?

But seriously, we
got to get the boat back.

-It's been a massive day.
-Yeah.

Let's go do some research
and come back tomorrow.

Many mid-ninth
century sailing ships,

like Occator, were
fitted with boilers.

They powered lifting equipment
and other machinery on deck.

The next day, the team is
returning to the boiler,

hoping it will lead to Occator.

After contacting the
Western Australian Museum,

confidence is growing.

The crazy thing is, like,
it's an unregistered site.

The WA Museum didn't
know that it was there.

Yeah, which is so exciting if it
could be linked to the Occator.

There she is.

Up to you, Annie.

One of the things we
should be looking for is timber,

because it will
make a difference

about whether this is something that
was part of a ship when it got here,

or was perhaps even
discarded from it.

So timber, metal...

In fact, anything
that looks a bit odd.

All right, then.
Let's get to it.

-All right. Great.
-Yeah.

So we have our eyes
really dialed in,

searching this beach
and the shallows.

We're looking for anything that can
indicate that there's a wreck here,

not just that old boiler.

And it looks like there's
a lot of clues here.

There's a piece of
really old wood here.

It's only quite small,
but it looks worm-eaten.

It doesn't look like
it's from around here.

This sort of stuff, it might
be able to give us an insight.

You know, you can see wreckage
right in the shallows,

so if we're lucky,

we might be able to get a bit
further out and spot something else.

I reckon you got a
pretty good chance

of finding something along
that reef edge, like you said.

It runs all the way from there
right along past our boiler,

so I'll start at that
end and drift along,

keeping an eye out for anything
that's just collected in the overhang.

-All right, enough chit-chat. Let's go.
-All right.

-In you get.
-Let's do it.

Nush, Andre, and Annie spread
out to search the reef and shallows

for signs of a shipwreck.

It's a good little
spot. Good ledge there.

This is the perfect place
to capture bits of ship.

Or me!

After a thorough
inspection of the site,

the team will send the findings
to the Western Australian Museum

for further analysis.

So it's the
last day on Ningaloo.

We've packed all of our gear,

and overnight, we
sent all the imagery

that we captured yesterday
at the boiler wreck site

through to Deb
from the WA Museum.

And what we're hoping for is for her
to come back with some new information

about what the wreckage
was, where it's come from,

and what ship it belonged to.

-Bit sad.
-Getting geared up, my brother.

Wow, that's cool.

-Hey, Deb.
-Deb, g'day, mate.

-Hi.
-Hi everyone.

From the photos that you
sent through, it looks like

it's one of the small-sized Scotch
boilers which is basically a marine boiler

that they began
manufacturing in 1865.

Yeah, so that's
not the Occator?

No, unfortunately not.

Occator wrecked nine years before
Scotch boilers were invented.

But I'm pretty sure
you found a new site.

-Oh, wow.
-Great.

A whole new adventure,
so it's pretty good.

-That's great.
-It's still a new discovery.

-That's so good.
-That's awesome.

Yeah, that's amazing.

Well done, team.

It does show how
rich our coastline is

with, like, shipwreck artifacts and
things that are still aren't discovered.

Yeah. The Occator, I guess,
is still out there somewhere.

Mate, any excuse to
come back to Ningaloo.

Well, look, there's at
least 1,300 shipwrecks

and other maritime
archaeological sites

along the coast of Western Australia
alone that still need to be located.

-Perfect.
-We've got some work to do.

Yes, we do.

It's going to keep us busy.

We'll keep looking.

Thanks, Deb.

Although
yet to find Occator,

the shipwreck hunters have
found a new archaeological site.

The mysterious boiler on
the beach has been added

to the team's growing
list of discoveries.

Shipwreck hunting is not
just about finding a shipwreck.

It's about the
stories, the people,

the wildlife you encounter on the
way, the incredible locations.

I feel really lucky to
investigate these stories

and share them with people,

because it's an incredible
part of Australian history

that otherwise would've
been forgotten.