The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
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.
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.
Bronze ship's plate taken from the SS Buka. The plate is rectangular and has a hole in each corner for attachment to the ship. Cast into the front of the plate is 'ULDERUP & SCHLUTER / HONG KONG / NO
Bronze ship's plate taken from the SS Buka. The plate is rectangular and has a hole in each corner for attachment to the ship. Cast into the front of the plate is 'ULDERUP & SCHLUTER / HONG KONG / NO
German, galvanised metal, candle-lantern that has a pair of brass handles on the back and other brass fittings on the side-hinged door on the front. The lantern is well made. Yellow coloured wax has r
Siege lamp made from tin-plated and regular steel. The lamp has a cylindrical body fitted to a circular stand. The side of the body has a small oval door on a side hinge for lighting the candle that s
Door from an Australian ammunition wagon, made from two pieces of flat steel held joined by two hinges. The samller section of steel forms the door, although the hinges are rusted in place and cannot
Native spear. The spear shaft is made from a solid piece of wood and has been painted black. The head of the spear is metal and has two arms that extend from the base. The arms have been screwed into
Brass bugle with nickel plated brass edging to bell and bindings around stem. The mouthpiece is missing. A large brass ring is attached to the outside of the bell, and another is attached below the mo
