Diver and rails Photo: Keith Denby Photo: KD

BSAC divers in Devon have finally identified a 19th-century wreck they discovered at 48m off Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel. Ilfracombe and North Devon SAC divers first uncovered the site of wreck, described as 'the 'QE2 of its generation', in the mid-80s, but it was only this year that they were able to positively identify it as the South Australian.

Until now the location of the wreck had remained a mystery following its disappearance in heavy seas on Valentine's Day back in 1889. It was carrying a cargo of railway lines from Cardiff to Argentina when it sank, and now lies ten miles off the east side of Lundy at a depth of between 42 and 48m.

'We have been diving the site since the mid-80s, when a fisherman told us there was possibly a wreck down there,' BSAC diver Keith Denby told DIVE. 'We found part of a railway on the sea bed, but we had no clue where it came from. In 1999 I had a phone call from a researcher in Scotland who told us about the South Australian. We spent more than four years trying without success to find some of the vital clues to its identity. It was only in the last couple of years, when the sand shifted, that we uncovered the frames.'

The BSAC divers had taken measurements from other wrecks, provided by Scottish wreck expert Alan Platt, to try to determine the wreck's identity. Denby said the divers used trimix for their dives in visibility of less than 1m this year.

'We had much clearer heads because of the trimix and we finally found some bolts which we could measure and know for sure if it was the South Australian,' Denby said. 'We were elated when we finally identified it because it took a lot of time and effort. The club has now adopted the wreck under the Nautical Archaeological Society (NAS) Adopt-a-Wreck scheme. We hope to do a NAS Part II study of the area next year.'