Within Australia, the protection and maintenance of historic shipwrecks is becoming an important part of heritage management. This paper explains how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can contribute to the management process.
100 shipwrecks in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, were analysed for potential threats from human interference. The impact of the general population and tourists using the coastal area, foreshore and underwater developments, commercial and recreational fishing, the activities of ships and boats and scuba diving and looting were all studied as part of this research
GIS was used to determine the threat from each of the human activities analysed, and to determine an overall threat for each of the 100 shipwrecks. Various methods of combining data were used to determine the overall threat. This found that methods can be used to exaggerate or minimise the level of threat, depending on the aim of the analysis.
Key word: GIS, Maritime Archaeology, Cultural Heritage Management