111 year old wreck off WA coast features in Shipwreck Hunters Australia

The sunken wreck of Finnish-owned sailing ship Glenbank, missing more than 100 years ago, has been discovered  in the spectacular Dampier Marine Park, off the coast of Western Australia.

The Scottish-built cargo ship sank with more than 20 crew on board in 1911.

The historic discovery is explored in the first episode of the new Disney+ local series, Shipwreck Hunters Australia.

“A lot of our team are deep sea divers and a huge passion of ours is filmmaking, shipwrecks, wildlife, and we all sort of came together some time ago and now we specialise in underwater cinematography,” diver and historical researcher Johnny Debnam tells TV Tonight.

“Collectively, we’ve probably spent a couple of years of our lives underwater.”

“It’s a really special spot. We’re in the middle of the ocean”

Debnam  sent down a remote camera off shore when they saw marine life congregating on the surface.

“It’s a really special spot. We’re in the middle of the ocean, there’s no land in sight but we’ve seen congregations of humpback whales, bullsharks, hammerhead sharks, every sort of tropical Northwest species you can imagine. They’re all meeting in this area. So that’s what really got us curious to lowering a camera and ultimately making a discovery.”

In November 1910, the steel barque Glenbank arrived at Balla Balla, Western Australia and had been chartered by Whim Well Copper Mines Ltd to transport copper ore from Balla Balla to the United Kingdom. The ship’s crew was made up of 20 plus members (mostly Russian, Norwegian, and Finnish) and was under the command of Finn, Captain Fredrik Moberg.

“There’s around 1500 wrecks in Western Australia”

Debnam says WA’s massive coastline is dotted with wrecks that all tell tragic stories.

“A lot of the stories behind these wrecks in Western Australia are like a Hollywood script. So we knew we were onto something,” he explains.

“We have a lot of exposed reefs, there are cyclones. Before modern technology of GPS they were sort of navigating from nature basically, using the stars but celestial navigation wasn’t very accurate. So that’s sort of what caused a lot of these old ships to crash into the reefs. There’s around 1500 wrecks in Western Australia and only a quarter of those have been found. So there’s still a lot of discoveries to be made.”

The evidence gathered by the team and extensive research determined that Glenbank came to its demise due to unsecured cargo of copper ore loaded at Balla Balla where, during a ferocious storm, the precious cargo shifted and caused the ship to capsize, splitting the hull and deck structure apart.

“They’re a resting ground for sailors who have passed away”

For Debnam, the hunt is not merely about claiming lost treasures or gold but the history and the success stories.

“All historic shipwrecks are protected by the Australian government. But that’s a good thing, so they don’t get all looted. Back in the ’70s, when people were finding Dutch treasure ships, they were going out there with dynamite and blowing up these wrecks to get the treasure. So it’s a good thing that that doesn’t happen anymore. They’re a really special place, these wrecks. They’re a resting ground for sailors who have passed away and they’ve also become marine sanctuaries now as well.”

Yet there was one unfinished story from the Glenbank – its one and only survivor Antti Ketola, was a 22-year-old Finnish seaman, who managed to get to safety on Legendre Island before being rescued by the pearling lugger, Pearl.

Remarkably, the Shipwreck Hunters Australia team was able to track down Antti Ketola’s descendants in Finland who had no idea about their fore-father’s incredible shipwreck story.

“It was really special to be able to share that story with Antti’s relative. He didn’t even know about that.”

Maritime Archaeologist, Dr Deb Shefi from Western Australian Museum said: “The discovery of Glenbank is very significant in helping tell the tale of global trade at the turn of the century and giving a voice to those who tragically lost their lives on that fateful day in 1911.

“It is not often we find a silhouette of a ship, with the masts aligned, resting on the seafloor like this. The unseasonably good weather meant Glenbank was ready to shed its secrets and we were able to record measurements and details that will assist further research into this tragic shipwreck.”

The series uncovers a number of other incredible shipwreck stories throughout each episode, including the discovery of a Dutch Dornier Do-24K flying boat operated by the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (Marineluchtvaartdienst), one of fifteen flying boats destroyed in an air raid from World War 2. This discovery was one of the most significant finds in Broome in over twenty years, and the culmination of decades of research.

“Our fascination for everything that we find underwater overrides that fear of ‘what could happen?'”

And then there are the inherent dangers.

“The obvious ones are sharks, but we were diving in crocodile infested waters in Broome with zero-visibility while we’re diving. We’re basically diving blind with crocs in the area. The ocean itself is always the biggest danger, because we’re diving at really deep depths, pushing the limits. It’s usually the ocean itself that causes most of the accidents,” Debnam continues.

“But I think our fascination for everything that we find underwater overrides that fear of ‘what could happen?’ We’ve all done a lot of training, we’re very respectful of the dangers. But I think our fascination just overtakes that.

“Every every episode has a different story. It’s just an adventure. We’ve got ships from back in the 1600s. We’ve got pirate captains stealing treasure and leaving their crew for dead. We’ve got ‘Australia’s Titanic ‘that we investigate the Koombana, which disappeared without a trace, tragically with 157 men, women and children on board. You couldn’t dream up some of these stories.”

Shipwreck Hunters Australia screens Wednesdays on Disney+

Updated.