| Place | Oceania: Pacific Islands, Solomon Islands, Bougainville, South Bougainville, Kieta |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | RELAWM00267 |
| Collection type | Technology |
| Object type | Maritime vessel or watercraft |
| Physical description | Brass |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Date made | c 1900s |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Binnacle lamp from the German steamer 'Buka' : HMAS 'Una', Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
Description
Binnacle lamp. The top of the lamp cover is cast brass with an adjustable domed chimney for heat extraction. It is also equipped with a folding bail handle which is missing the wooden hand grip and one of the handle arms is bent. The lamp shows evidence of corrosion on the main body, door and burner caused by long immersion in salt water.
The door has a sliding locking pin and hinges open to reveal the lantern inside. The glass in the door has broken and fallen out. The hinges on the door have been repaired at some time during the life of the lamp. Aspiration holes have been added to the rear of the lantern at the base of the lamp cover for ventilation.
The burner is made of brass and has no makers stamps visible. The top of the burner is ceramic and has 'TRADE MARK / BAR BB TON' printed on the near side. The ceramic has been glazed to seal the trademark.
History / Summary
Upon learning that the Australians had captured Rabaul, the German District Officer at Kieta, Bougainville Island, decided to sink the wooden steamer 'Buka', of 58.5 tons and a length of 79 feet, with the intention of raising her when the danger had passed.
In November, 1914, after greasing and painting her engines he took her to a neighbouring bay and, with the assistance of his police master and several trusted natives, opened the cocks and sank her close to the shore in about fifteen fathoms.
On 9 December a detachment of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) occupied Kieta. Later, the Australian destroyer 'Warrego' arrived there, and when her commander enquired after the 'Buka', native boys directed him to the spot where the vessel lay.
It was impossible to raise her then, but early in 1915 she was examined by a diver from the sloop HMAS 'Una', and her hull and fittings were reported to be in a satisfactory state. 'Una', formerly known as the 'Komet', was the yacht of the administrator of German New Guinea, before she was been captured on 11 October 1914 and commissioned into the RAN.
On being re-examined six years later Buka's hull and engines were found to be ruined and the diver who went down on the second occasion brought this lamp to the surface.