Commonwealth legislation

Proclamation - Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 - South Australia

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Collection

legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

1/10 complexity

This Proclamation extends federal protection to historic shipwrecks in South Australian coastal waters.

The Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 protects shipwrecks older than 75 years and their associated artifacts (called "relics") from damage, looting, and unauthorized disturbance. However, the Act only applies to a State's waters once the Governor-General specifically declares it.

What this document does:

Declares that the 1976 Act now applies to waters adjacent to South Australia (including waters above the continental shelf)
Brings SA under the Commonwealth shipwreck protection regime
Makes it illegal to damage, disturb, or remove protected wreck material in SA waters without a permit

Who it affects:

Recreational and commercial divers
Maritime archaeologists
Fishermen and boat operators who might encounter wreck sites
Museums and collectors dealing in maritime artifacts

This ensures South Australia's underwater cultural heritage is protected under federal law, with penalties for interference.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Proclamation - Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 - South Australia.

Proclamation - Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 - South Australia

PROCLAMATION

Commonwealth of

Australia

ZELMAN COWEN

Governor-General

By His Excellency the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia

WHEREAS it is provided by section 2 of the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 that that Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent but shall not apply in relation to waters (including waters above the continental shelf) adjacent to the coast of a State until a Proclamation has been made declaring that the Act applies in relation to waters adjacent to the coast of that State:

NOW THEREFORE I, Sir Zelman Cowen, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby declare that the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 applies in relation to waters adjacent to the coast of the State of South Australia.

(L.S.) GIVEN under my hand and the Great Seal of Australia on 11 June 1980.

By His Excellency’s Command,

R. J. ELLICOTT

Minister of State for Home Affairs

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 Proclamation - Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 - South Australia