Part 3C Protection of historic shipwrecks
(1) In this Part:excavation permit means an excavation permit referred to in section 139.
historic shipwreck means the remains of any ship (including any articles associated with the ship):
(a) that have been situated in State waters, or otherwise within the limits of the State, for 75 years or more, or(b) that are the subject of a historic shipwrecks protection order.historic shipwrecks permit means a historic shipwrecks permit referred to in section 51.
historic shipwrecks protection order means an order referred to in section 48 (1).
Register of Shipwrecks means the Register referred to in section 49.
ship includes any navigable vessel.
State waters means:
(a) the coastal waters of the State (within the meaning of Part 10 of the Interpretation Act 1987), or(b) any other waters within the limits of the State.(2) In this Part, a reference to an article being associated with a ship includes a reference to:(a) any article that appears to have formed part of the ship, and(b) any article that appears to have been installed on, or carried in, the ship, and(c) any article that appears to have been constructed or used by a person associated with the ship.(3) In this Part, a reference to any remains of a ship, or any article associated with a ship, being situated in State waters includes a reference to any such remains or article:(a) being situated in, or forming part of, the land beneath those waters, or(b) being situated in, or forming part of, a reef in those waters.
Division 2 Historic shipwrecks protection
48 Declaration of historic shipwrecks
(1) The Minister, by order published in the Gazette, may declare to be a historic shipwreck the remains of any ship situated in State waters or otherwise within the limits of the State, and may do so regardless of the length of time for which it has been so situated.(2) An order under this section may relate to one or more ships or one or more articles, or to both one or more ships and one or more articles.(3) An order under this section must identify, in accordance with any requirements imposed by the regulations, the nature and location of the historic shipwreck to which the order relates.
(1) There is to be a register called the Register of Shipwrecks kept by the Heritage Council. The Register is to be kept in such form and manner as the Heritage Council determines.(2) The Register is to contain particulars of each historic shipwrecks protection order made under this Part.
50 Heritage Council advice on historic shipwrecks protection orders
The Heritage Council is to provide advice to the Minister on the making of historic shipwrecks protection orders, either at the request of the Minister or on its own initiative.
51 Movement, damage or destruction of historic shipwrecks
(1) A person must not move, damage or destroy any historic shipwreck otherwise than in accordance with a historic shipwrecks permit.(2) This section does not apply to a historic shipwreck that is subject to an interim heritage order made by the Minister or a listing on the State Heritage Register.(3) This section does not prevent a person from moving, damaging or destroying a historic shipwreck situated in any land in accordance with an excavation permit in force in respect of that land.(4) It is a defence to proceedings for an offence under this section if the defendant establishes that the act giving rise to the offence was done for the purpose of:(a) saving human life, or(b) securing the safety of a ship where the ship was endangered by stress of weather or by navigational hazards, or(c) dealing with an emergency involving a serious threat to the environment.
52 Part not to apply to certain waters
This Part does not apply to such of the State waters as are waters to which the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 of the Commonwealth applies.