Fed: 180-year-old shipwreck gets federal protection
15 Jan 2009 1:50 PM
The federal government's declared a protected zone around the wreck of the 180-year-old British schooner .. Mermaid .. off the coast of Queensland.
The wreck was discovered two weeks ago .. 20 kilometres from Cairns .. by underwater archaeologists from the Australian National Maritime Museum.
When it ran aground in June 1829 .. the ship's crew were unable to free the vessel .. but escaped in boats and were rescued 11 days later by a passing merchant ship.
Environment Minister PETER GARRETT has declared the Mermaid's resting place a protected zone .. under the Historic Shipwrecks Act of 1976.
