Hugh Edwards (journalist)

William Hugh Edwards (born 29 July 1933) is a Western Australian author and marine photographer who has written numerous books on maritime, local and natural history and diving.

Shipwrecks

He played a major part in the discovery of famous Dutch East India Company shipwrecks of the 17th and 18th centuries on the Western Australia coast, including as primary discoverer[1] of the Batavia and Zeewyk.[2]

Books and awards

His book Islands of Angry Ghosts on his expedition to the site of Batavia, lost in the Abrolhos Islands in 1629, won the Sir Thomas White Memorial Prize for the best book written by an Australian in 1966. It covers the loss of the Dutch East Indiaman, the mutiny and massacre on the island, and the retributions.

Wreck on the Half Moon Reef is another of Edwards' books, on the loss of Zeewyk in 1727. Recent titles include Shark - The Shadow Below, and Port of Pearls (on the north-west town of Broome and its pearling industry). Edwards' autobiography Dead Men's Silver detailing 60 years of diving, shipwreck discovery and salvage, was published in 2011. He lives in Perth, Western Australia and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 8 June 2009.

References
  1. Western Australia Legislative Assembly 17 August 1994 Select Committee on Ancient Shipwrecks
  2. National Centre for History Education Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine The Batavia and Her Detectives
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