Arpenteur Wreck (Hassell Beach, Cheyne Bay)

Meet the site

The Arpenteur was a French wooden brigantine built in 1839 and engaged in whaling off the south coast. In 1849 she was driven ashore by a north-east gale at the western end of Hassell Beach in Cheyne Bay, east of Albany, with a cargo that included whale oil, flour, tea, sugar and sundries. The wreck was lost to memory until fishermen rediscovered it in 1965.

Marine Life Network records the site 100 m offshore in 3 m on a flat sandy bottom, with several frames and 4.6 m of planking showing above the sand and rounded stone ballast present. Exposure varies with sand movement, so there may be more or less to see on any given day.

The Arpenteur is one of the earliest wrecks on the south coast and a tangible link to the French and American whaling fleets that worked these waters in the first half of the 19th century – the same era that gave nearby Two Peoples Bay its name. For most divers it is a brief snorkel of historical interest rather than a dive in its own right, and it suits those combining a visit to Cheynes Beach with Tourist Rock and, by boat, Bald Island. The remains are protected under WA's maritime heritage legislation. Combine it with Tourist Rock at Cheynes Beach on the same day.

What you might see

Flathead, whiting, rays, seagrass fish

Location

Scant timber remains of a French whaling brigantine wrecked in 1849, lying in 3 m about 100 m offshore at the western end of Hassell Beach in Cheyne Bay.