''No 5 dumb hopper barge'', since being scuttled known as the No. 5 Barge, Zanoni Barge and Ardrossan Barge, was a

hopper barge A hopper barge is a kind of non-mechanical ship or vessel that cannot move around by itself, unlike some other types of barges, that is designed to carry materials, like rocks, sand, soil and rubbish, for dumping into the ocean, a river or lake ...

which was built in 1911 at Balmain in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Poole & Steel Poole & Steel was a major Australian engineering, railway rolling stock manufacturer and shipbuilding company. It had facilities located in Balmain, New South Wales and Osborne, South Australia. History The company was set up by Arthur Hugh Pool ...

for the then Marine Board of South Australia, an agency of the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

. She was part of a fleet of vessels used to dredge the shipping approaches to

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

and other ports in South Australia. Her specific role was to hold spoil from the

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

process and convey it under tow to a dumping site. In 1978, she became redundant after the purchase of two self-propelled barges. Following the prohibition of access to the waters within of the historic wrecksite of ''

Zanoni ''Zanoni'' is an 1842 novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a story of love and occult aspiration. By way of introduction, the author confesses: "... It so chanced that some years ago, in my younger days, whether of authorship or life, I felt the d ...

'', the barge was scuttled during the week ending 13 April 1984 about south east of

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in order to create an

artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many re ...

available for recreational fishing use. The scuttling site, an official

ship's graveyard A ship graveyard or ship cemetery is a location where the hulls of scrapped ships are left to decay and disintegrate, or left in reserve. Such a practice is now less common due to waste regulations and so some dry docks where ships are bro ...

, is located at .

References

External links

“Snapper fishing Ardrossan South Australia.MP4” published on Jan 17, 2013
Barges Ships built in Australia 1911 ships Maritime incidents in 1984 Ships sunk as artificial reefs Scuttled vessels Ships of South Australia Shipwrecks of South Australia Gulf St Vincent {{Merchantship-stub

See also

References

External links