SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
May 24:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1697: Two Dutch East Indiamen, the Oosterland and Waddingsveen, were lost on the same day during a strong gale in Table Bay in the Western Cape, just north of the Salt River mouth.
 |
| Two examples of complete Chinese blue-and-white porcelain artifacts that were excavated from Oosterland. They date to the Kangxi period (1662–1722 CE) and were probably private trade goods |
Reports vary, but it is believed that no more than 17 of the approximately 400 people that were on board both vessels survived. Both wrecks were subject to an archaeological excavation during the late 1980s/early 1990s. The excavations lead to the discovery of many artefacts that lay preserved under the shifting sands of Table Bay which, because of the artefacts being found in context by archaeologists, helped to further our knowledge of what life was like on board these ships and to give a clearer picture of what goods were being traded between Europe, Southern Africa and the Far East.
1890: Ashleigh Brook, this British iron steam-powered ship wrecked at Dassen Island in the Western Cape in the early hours of the morning.
1911: Itzehoe, this German steam-powered cargo ship ran aground and wrecked on the rocks at Cape Recife in the Eastern Cape. The tug Sir Frederick tried to pull it off, but this was to no avail.
 |
| The Itzehoe (1911), aground with the Cape Recife lighthouse in the background |
When it became clear that the ship would be lost, lighters were dispatched to get most of the cargo off before the weather turned. It later broke its back and was slowly taken by the sea. Parts of the hull are still visible today and are found at a depth of about 7 m.
1914: Natal, this steam-powered Norwegian whaler ran aground and wrecked on Robben Island in the Western Cape while chasing whales in a thick fog.
1981: A SAAF Douglas DC-3 (registration no. 6878) was destroyed in a fire on this day at the Johannesburg-Rand Germiston Airport in Gauteng while it was being serviced.
