All language subtitles for S02E01 - Shipwreck Hunters Australia Rodondo

This is pretty much
the end of Australia.

There's nothing between here
and Antarctica, except for hellish ocean.

The Southern Ocean is some
of the roughest ocean in the world.

It's the last place
you wanna come unstuck.

There's that many missing shipwrecks
along this coast,

and we don't know where they are.

One of them's called Rodondo.

The story of Rodondo is incredible.

It's just straight out of a movie.

It hit a little reef
in the middle of the Southern Ocean.

It's been missing for so many years
and it's a big ship.

The team is searching for the Rodondo.

Finding it would be one-in-a-million.

The Shipwreck Hunters are back.

That is insane!

I've never seen anything like that.

Hot on the trail
of a long-lost steamship.

I feel like this is
the hardest shipwreck search we've done.

In one of the most extreme
locations on earth.

The weather has picked up
and it's getting really, really hectic,

and we must get out of here right now.

The search will push them
to their limits.

There's a white down here!

The moment they've
hit the sea floor,

there's a great white shark.

And could break their spirits.

It's such a massive ocean
that just swallows history up.

-As together...
-Rightio, let's go.

-Rodondo is this way. Let's go.
-All right.

...they dream of making
the ultimate discovery.

-Oh. What is that?
-What? What?

In the southern port town
of Esperance,

the Shipwreck Hunters are gearing up
for their biggest mission ever.

A search for the wreck
of the 19th century steamship, Rodondo.

It means a 12-hour journey into an area
exposed to wild and powerful storms.

So, the team has enlisted
their trusted old friend,

Kuri Pearl II.

How good is it
to be back on the Kuri?

-It's awesome.
-So good.

So good.

We're taking her on an adventure.

We are absolutely stoked to have
the Kuri Pearl back for this expedition.

It's really well built
for these remote operations,

because where we're going is a long way
from home and a long way from help.

Can you rig that?

Looking good, mate!

We've got all the toys here today.
I'm super-excited for this trip.

It's about as exciting

as a shipwreck hunting expedition gets,
this one.

One key person won't be making
this long-range mission.

Captain Ash is busy working
on his new farm.

I've got a bit to do at the farm.

I really wish I could be on this mission,

but I know the team will give it
their best shot.

I'm gonna be here waiting,
hopefully, with some really good news.

There's no Ash,

but local dive expert,
Marc Payne, is on board.

His knowledge of the treacherous ocean
where the team will search,

could mean the difference
between finding Rodondo, or not.

We're heading out
to one of my favorite locations,

which is Salisbury Island.

What we have is one of the biggest
seal colonies in Western Australia there.

That attracts white sharks.

But it's not just the white sharks,
it's a really healthy ecosystem.

And this time it's special,

because we're going out there
to look for a shipwreck.

Captained by Henry Hill,

SS Rodondo left Adelaide
in South Australia on October 2nd, 1894.

On board were 200 crew and passengers,

including two small children,

heading to the West
at the peak of the gold rush.

Tragically, after five days at sea,

the large iron ship hit a hidden reef

before sinking
near the remote Salisbury Island.

It's somewhere Johnny
and Ryan have been before,

conducting an initial search.

It is one wild place.

It is a great white hotspot.

There's no boats out here whatsoever.
We're very remote.

For a moment,
they thought they'd found something.

You are kidding me.

-I think we found it.
-We may have found it.

Maritime archaeologist
Dr. Deb Shefi

from the Western Australian Museum,

is also joining the mission.

Look at this.
I don't think you brought enough.

Look at all the toys

we got for ya.

Deb's expertise
in maritime history

and interpreting seabed imagery

will be invaluable
to the search operation.

So, Deb, this is some of the vision
from the first expedition that we went on.

What we thought was the smoke stack
and a davit arm and part of the boiler.

Look, I can
a hundred percent see how,

if you saw this picture at a first glance,
you'd be really excited about it.

This looks rather geological to me.

It's one of those things, like it's...
Shipwreck fever is real.

You start seeing things
and you start imagining

that you found something that we hadn't.

So, back to the drawing board.

What do we know about the Rodondo?

All right.
The vessel was in South Australia,

left Adelaide heading west,
towards Albany,

which is just a town
here in Western Australia.

And unfortunately, Rodondo was off course
and ends up hitting Pollock Reef,

which is just here,
and that's where the story begins for us.

So, this time 'round,
I've got the ultimate vessel

with all of the equipment,
and I'm feeling way more confident.

It was a bit of a dream ship,
really.

That everyone had their hopes
and dreams of making their money

on the West Coast during the gold rush.

And I feel like it's kind of been
swallowed up in history a little bit.

Before leaving the protection
of the mainland,

Noongar Nation traditional owners,
Auntie Donna Beach and Uncle Doc Reynolds,

perform a smoking ceremony
to wish everyone a safe journey.

And grant you safe passage
and welcome.

May the water and spirits keep you safe
on your journeys.

-Thanks.
-Thank you.

-Thanks, Doc.
-'Till we meet again.

-Smells amazing.
-Smells beautiful.

It's a bit of protection.

The team departs Esperance
and will travel overnight,

navigating the expansive
and hazardous Recherche Archipelago.

The first stop will be Pollock Reef.

We know that it hit Pollock Reef
about 2:00 a.m.

It says the starboard lifeboats
were immediately rushed

by the firemen and passengers.

What about the women and children?

-Nah.
-I think,

it sounded like mayhem, Nushy.

So, "three boats got away successfully.

"But the fourth was rushed and smashed
against the side of the ship,

"while her passengers, some 18 or 20 men,

-were thrown into the sea.
-Oh!

"Four of them were drowned
and the rest were hauled back out to sea,

"some clinging onto each other
like barnacles."

Within an instant,
there's like, four dead.

And there was, like, the story of gunshots

and apparently, like, someone might've,
like, even shot themselves

'cause they were probably fearing
for their own lives, fallen in the water

and just gave up.

And that's only the start
of their struggles.

That's horrendous.

Terrible.

I don't think there's any better way

for us to locate
where the wreck of the Rodondo is,

than doing what we're doing.

You know, following exactly
where the ship went,

where the survivors went.

So, I think we need
to get some good sleep,

because we've got a hell of a trip ahead.

Let's hit the sack.

After a long journey,

the Shipwreck Hunters arrive
at Pollock Reef,

where Rodondo first ran into trouble.

Here we are!

Seeing it
is an important first step,

if they're to find the shipwreck.

-Oh!
-Far out.

-So, that's it, Pollock Reef.
-Wow.

That is beautiful.

-That is amazing.
-That is insane.

I've never seen anything like that.

-What an amazing bit of the ocean.
-Amazing, when you're on this boat.

And you know where it is.

When you put it all together,
what actually happened,

it's 2 o'clock in the morning,
there's 200-odd people aboard.

It would have been absolute mayhem,
absolute terror,

and a little infant was thrown
in the water on a lifebuoy

and only just survived
by the sounds of it.

It'd have been very traumatic
for those people aboard.

In the chaos and darkness,

the chief engineer managed to stem
the flow of water filling the ship's hull.

Captain Hill then ordered the passengers
and crew in the rescue boats

back on board

and set the slowly sinking ship
on a course to nearby Salisbury Island,

where the team find a safe place
to anchor.

Hello. I'm up.
It's 2.4 here.

Might drop down again...

It's surprising there wasn't
a lot more deaths.

If they hadn't made it to this island,
if that ship would've sunk quicker

after hitting Pollock Reef, you know,

you could've had 200 people gone
without a trace.

So, they're actually very lucky

they had this beautiful, raw, wild island
to survive on for a little bit.

Salisbury Island's a really important part
of the survival story,

because they tried to run the ship aground

at the top of Salisbury
on a rocky reef up there.

So getting in the water's really important
'cause we can see if that's even possible.

It might be like quite a sheer drop
off the back of there,

or it could be shallow.

Marc Payne,

who has spent hundreds of hours
underwater at this high-risk location,

will lead the dive team.

We are in one
of the biggest great white hotspots

in Western Australia now.

If a shark comes around, just lay low.

Try and stay as close as you can
to the bottom.

Try not to swim rapidly
away from it or anything.

Just stay calm, stick together

and try and keep your back to a rock
or your back to the cage.

Super easy to just get complacent,
distracted and wander off.

But just remind yourself
there's some big fish out here.

Well, I think we should all gear up
and get down there.

-All right.
-Let's go.

It's so magic.

We're being super cautious.

We've got the shark cage so all divers
will be going up and down in the cage.

There'll be no hanging out mid-water.

I think for somebody
to go diving in this environment

for the very first time ever,

it's like landing on the moon
or something, such a special occasion.

There we go.

I'm wearing a ghillie suit on this dive.

If you think of somebody hiding
in the jungle with their camera,

observing something, this is exactly it.

Coming down on the winch,
coming down on the winch.

The divers descend 18 meters...

-Here we go.
-...then leave

the safety of the shark cage

to search for evidence of Rodondo
striking the edge of the island.

We've got a beautiful view
of the Southern Ocean down here.

Really cool water, a nice blue color.

-We've got a white, got a white.
-There's a white down here!

The moment they've hit
the sea floor, there's a great white.

Oh, my goodness.
We've got one, guys!

That's two great whites!
Two great whites!

With two great white sharks
patrolling the seabed,

there's no choice but to resurface.

That was just
a really classic example

of how that predator would work
the edges of this island for seals.

They kind of, you know, like,
really came in and had a good look.

They were probably thinking,

"What is this thing down here?"

Well, like, now imagine running aground
and falling in the ocean.

And those things are just like...

-So scary.
-Probably one of the worst places

on Earth to be wrecked in the water,
in that instance, shark-wise, you know?

It's so healthy out here,
which is amazing,

but not good,
if you're a shipwreck survivor.

With the dive investigation
too risky to complete,

Nush, Andre and Marc go ashore
the harsh, rocky island,

just like the exhausted passengers
and crew of Rodondo,

-more than 130 years ago.
-See you on the island.

Can you guys imagine people
coming ashore here

that have all been squished
into seven rescue boats

and trying to get onto this island
would be so difficult.

It would be mayhem,
because it's a beautiful, calm day today,

but I don't think it looks like this
all the time,

or it very rarely looks like this,

so it'd have been so hard
to get onto the island.

It would have been wild
and especially, like,

some of them have probably
never even been on boats before,

so they wouldn't have had
a clue what to do.

Would've been scary.

Should we go and walk up this way,

see if we can get up the ridge
and get to the lookout?

-Done.
-Let's go.

-All right.
-I'll race ya.

Captain Hill arranged
the survivors into camps

to share water
and a small amount of rations.

Among them was toddler Alex Cousten
and his three-year-old sister, Jessie.

Aw, so cute.

After two days and nights,
rations ran low

and survival became even more urgent.

The island's wildlife,
now a source of food

for the desperate survivors.

There's a fish skeleton here, hey.

Is it?

Eagle must have got it.

At the peak
of Salisbury Island,

Andre, Marc, and Nush get a better view
of where the ship may have sunk.

So, the story goes, they got
the passengers onto the rescue rafts.

They brought them over to Salisbury
into this bay here

so they can get on land and to safety.
Captain Hill stayed on the boat.

They put it into full steam to run it
aground at the end of the island.

He's jumped overboard like a superhero.

And then it glanced off the edge
of the island,

kept going about another six miles
and hit another reef.

And then, eyewitnesses said
it sunk around there.

That's coming from the accounts

and what we can see here today,
it kind of fits.

There's a 73-meter ship
sitting out there somewhere,

maybe right under our nose.

Hi.

Had some
awesome weather yesterday.

How did you guys go? All right?

A new day
and the search will begin.

Based on their experience
on Salisbury Island and survivor accounts,

the team has drawn up a survey plan
to try to find the Rodondo shipwreck.

It was pretty cool to be able to climb up
and have a viewpoint at Coopers Island

and see the bay
where the survivors might have landed

and where they'd have seen Coopers from.

I think we should head out
towards Cooper Island

and see if we can define that search area.

So, the plan for today is
we're here at Salisbury Island

and we're gonna cruise up
and go to Coopers.

I think the best thing
that we can do is mobilize the boat

and get all that side-scanning gear set up
and go look for this thing.

-Let's do it.
-Keen as.

Johnny and Ryan's
initial search covered an area

off the northern edge of Salisbury Island.

Now the search zone will expand
to cover 90 square kilometers

between Salisbury Island and Cooper Island
and a small reef to the northeast,

where the seabed survey will begin.

Moxy, we're just about
to start lifting this over, mate.

Johnny, you'll have to hang on to it
so it's swimming behind the boat.

The team will deploy
a deep-sea magnetometer

to pick up magnetic signatures
such as an iron hull.

A side-scan sonar will reveal images
of the seabed in real-time.

Down on the wire.

She's away.

It feels great to have this thing
scanning in the water.

It's always more nerve-racking
when you're so remote.

You know, we're 14 hours
from a very remote town

and, you know, if just one little thing
goes wrong with this, it's all over.

Like, the search is over.
So, the stakes are high.

Fingers crossed. Let's go find this thing.

The search is underway,

and there are days
of scanning ahead for the crew.

After three days stranded
on Salisbury Island,

Captain Hill set sail in a rescue boat
with 11 men and headed for the mainland.

They lit a kerosene lamp,

which quickly blew out.

Remarkably, Captain Douglas
of the passing ship, Grace Darling,

spotted the flash of light.

This led to the rescue of all survivors,

including the two small children
who were now in a poor condition.

Oh!

It is challenging in these conditions
because it's rough and roll.

Stuff's falling over everywhere.

The search continues.

But not everything is going to plan.

It's coming up a little bit here.

It's coming up 10 meters here.

-We're coming...
-Let the guys

up in the control room know that.

An unexpected storm is building
and will hit the Shipwreck Hunters.

So, we've managed
to get some searching done.

We ran a few lines,
but the weather has picked up

and it's getting really, really hectic.

Swell's picked up and we actually have
to get out of here right now.

We've got the side scanner in,
got the magnetometer in,

and we must steam a few hours
to get to the mainland

just to shelter
out of this storm that's coming.

The team runs from the storm at
full speed to the safety of Israelite Bay.

Getting close now.

-Shall I tie it the other way?
-Are you gonna be okay, Damo?

These protected waters
are a haven

for large numbers
of southern right whales.

And it's close to where Rodondo's
195 survivors were brought ashore.

So, just off our portside over here,
you can see two chimney stacks,

which are actually ruins
from the telegraph station.

And some of the survivors from the Rodondo
actually ended up over there.

The two young children,
Alex and sister Jessie, and their mother

were nursed back to health
at the telegraph station homestead.

This incredible story
of rescue and survival

made headlines around the country.

The next morning,
the wind and swell have intensified

and the team faces a tough decision.

This massive storm has made it hard
for everything, really.

This is the front that's gonna
be hitting us for the next few days.

Tomorrow's gonna be up to 50 knots
with a seven-meter swell.

I don't know what we're gonna do.

I think just with the forecast
so set in,

we can't see a break in the weather
for at least a week ahead.

We can't sit out here for a week.

It's just frustrating,
'cause what it takes to get here,

the cost, the mobilization, lining up
the vessels, lining up all the crew,

like, it's not easy work
to even get to this point.

Now we've got to run home

-with our tail between our legs.
-Sad. Sad day.

It's too dangerous to continue,
and the mission has to be abandoned.

Kuri Pearl II will now hug the coast,

traveling 15 hours
back to safety in Esperance.

It's definitely disappointing.

I've pictured the wreck
so many times in my mind already,

laying in deep water
out there near Coopers Island.

It's just sitting there and it's just...
We're so close,

but you don't have to be very far off
in such a massive ocean

that just swallows history up.

Definitely excited to get back out here
and finish this mission off.

The Shipwreck Hunters
are not giving up,

calling on help
from an aerial survey company

to scan the seabed from the sky.

Using powerful magnetometers,

the survey covers
the 90-square-kilometer search zone.

The data is analyzed
by expert geologist, Alasdair Cooke,

and historian, Annie Boyd,
to identify possible targets.

Captain Ash has received the results

and is meeting with Johnny and Ryan
to talk through the findings.

Well, I've just got the results
from the airplane mag search

and there's three spots.

-So insane.
-All pretty much in that area

where supposedly that's where the captain
said it might have gone down.

-So, they line up. It makes sense.
-Sort of. You can see 'em.

What's most exciting for me for target one
is it's right out there by itself

and it looks like it's surrounded by sand.

This is our very, very best shot...

-It is.
-...at locating the Rodondo.

-But don't get too confident, mate.
-No, no.

We know that this area has
a lot of natural geology

that gives off
very strong magnetic signals.

That's what makes this wreck
so hard to find.

Have you been able to find out
any more info on the history?

There were
two very young children on board,

a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old.

They got picked up from the life raft
as the ship was sinking.

And I've been able to track down
what happened to them as they got older.

So, the boy, Alex, went on
to be a war hero.

So, he went to Gallipoli in World War I,
ended up fighting in France as well,

and then ended up
going into the Air Force.

Taken as a prisoner of war,

and then escaped, was shot in the face.

Survived all that, and he got a award
from the king for his incredible service.

I mean, it's just a pattern
with all of these shipwreck survivors.

They're just made of steel.

-Imagine meeting him...
-Oh.

...and just the look on his face.

And his sister, Jessie, went on
to be a hero as well.

She trained to be a nurse
and volunteered during a pandemic

to help people with the Spanish flu,
which was super dangerous as well.

So, they both went on to lead
incredible lives after this wreck.

Finding out all this information
about these two young kids

and what happened to 'em
has just blown my mind.

But what has really hooked me in now
is trying to see

if there's any living descendants
related to them now, you know.

Do they know about the wreck?
Do they know all this history?

There's gotta be.

Well, you've been on two trips already
to search for this ship

and you've found nothing.

-Third time, lucky?
-Fingers crossed, mate.

-Good luck.
-Thanks, mate.

Good luck. Seriously, you'll need it.

With three targets
to investigate,

the Shipwreck Hunters are mounting
another mission to Salisbury Island,

their third attempt
to find the wreck of Rodondo.

So, what's the forecast looking like?

Seven-meter swell, 40 knots.

Really? At least
it's two meters less than last time.

It's gonna be devastating
if we don't find it.

But on the other side, if we find it,
we are gonna lose our minds.

'Cause the amount
of work hours and sea time

that's gone into finding
this wreck is incredible.

So, it's gonna be
either life changing and amazing

or absolutely heartbreaking.

The team again
travels overnight

from Esperance to the search area

between Salisbury and Cooper Islands.

They go directly to target one,

the largest of the three
and the most hopeful.

I feel like this is probably
the hardest shipwreck search we've done.

-And we're like, literally minutes away.
-Oh!

The team deploys
the deep-sea side-scan sonar.

In the water. Going down,

-going down.
-Very nice. Very nice. Lovely.

-All right.
-Rightio.

-Rodondo is this way.
-All right.

Real-time vision
of the seafloor is fed

to an observation screen on board.

The images span hundreds of meters
to the left and right of the ship

to reveal if the magnetometer targets
are rocks or Rodondo.

They better not find it
before we get there.

They have it in. Wow!

Come on, Rodondo.

Interesting that there's
a lot of rocks there.

Not really what we wanted to see.

That's some big rocks, isn't it?

On the starboard side.

So, this is our target one

-that's looking like rock at the moment.
-It is.

Oh, God, that's a little bit devastating.

Look, we're not done yet, okay?

We're not done yet,
so keep your heads high.

We just went over target one
comprehensively and turned up nothing,

which is a real heartbreaker

because we had all of our hopes
sort of pinned on that one.

That was the most promising
out of all of the targets that we've got.

On to target two.

It's a large magnetic signature
at a depth of 60 meters.

Come on, target two.
What have you got for us?

-Here it comes. Look at that.
-There it is.

Wow. Oh, wow, look at that.

That's such a clean picture.

It's definitely geological.

That doesn't mean
there's not something in the geology.

And that's why we just have to have eyes
on the screen and just be patient.

So sad.

-Damn!
-Oh!

Come on!

I've never been so disappointed
to see rocks in my life.

It's just so hard as well,
because you can see all the reef,

then your eyes are playing tricks on you

and you worry you're missing something.

We've still got hope, though.

-Still got hope.
-One more.

-Target three has always been my favorite.
-Has it?

It is now.

There's just one magnetometer
reading left to investigate.

Target three is to the north
of Cooper Island, near a shallow reef.

It's the last chance the team has
of finding the Rodondo wreck.

This is going smack bang
over the top of target three.

-Oh! Here we go.
-Come on.

We've been in this situation a few times,
haven't we?

-Come on.
-It's such a good feeling

but a horrible one at the same time.

God, where is this ship?

Come on. What have we got?
What's this?

We're looking at the right side.

That's way too big.

It looks like rocks, doesn't it?

So good at finding rocks.

Oh, this is hard.

God, man. If it was there,
it'd stand out so nice, wouldn't it?

Very rocky.

-Far out, man.
-It's gut-wrenching.

It's a blow
in the hunt for Rodondo.

It is hard when you don't have a win.
Pretty disappointing.

But they're not giving up.

Nush pushes the team to rethink
the aerial magnetometer data

based on the day's findings.

Do you reckon it's worth
revisiting the mag data?

Oh, like, the aerial mag data?

-It doesn't hurt.
-It's a really good idea,

'cause now that we can confirm
those spikes are rocks,

we can account that
into the other anomalies.

It definitely drives you crazy
looking for shipwrecks.

It's a fever. It's so fun, you know?

And you just never know
what's around the next corner

or what's on the next line.

That's why you keep doing it.

But then there's the lows
of having nothing

and again and again and again and,

you know, you're trying so hard
most of your life sometimes.

Out in these crazy areas
getting absolutely hammered by weather.

With everyone seasick,

and it's just, like, you know,
it costs a lot of money.

And you come home with nothing.

All right, guys, it's coming in close.
Just be careful on the back there.

Don't get washed off.

Desperate to keep
the search alive,

everyone dives back into research
trying to find further clues.

Andre sends the day's results
to experts Alasdair Cooke and Annie Boyd,

to see if they can identify
any smaller potential targets

hidden in the magnetometer data.

Look.

Dolphins.

They're so close to the shore.

That's a good sign.

Dolphins are good omens.

Day three.

There's been a breakthrough,

and the search for the Rodondo shipwreck
could be back on.

I've been pouring
over the airplane survey data

and bugging Alasdair Cooke
and Annie Boyd last night, pretty late.

But the cool thing about it is,

Alasdair has come through with something.

Oh, that's so exciting.
So we've got another target.

And the crazy thing is,
it's so tiny.

It's a lot smaller signature
than the other ones,

and it's also six nautical miles
north of Salisbury.

That's crazy 'cause that fits
into a lot of the different accounts.

There's an interesting one
that's from Mr. Edmonds,

and he was a passenger on board.

And that one does say

that "the ship ran a course
northward, unmanned,

"until it struck on a small reef at 5:30
and went down quickly, stern first,

"a little more than six miles
north of the island."

-Wow.
-But then,

what I'm also really interested in
is a picture that Mr. Edmonds' son drew

-of the ship going down.
-Wow.

And I feel like, you know,
a picture can say a thousand words

-so this target four would put...
-I'd say Coopers.

...this in the area
of Cooper Island.

-So many clues, isn't there?
-And which one to follow?

There's so many accounts,

and they all lead you in different ways.

The Shipwreck Hunters steam
towards the new target,

hoping it could be a shipwreck.

I'm excited about this one.
It's a smaller signature.

Maybe, you know, the way
it's been calibrated to the geology here,

it might suit the Rodondo.

And it's our last target, too,
Dre.

Come on.

This is it.

-We're gonna know in the next minute.
-Oh!

So, we should be seeing it now.

-So only on...
-Nothing on the mag.

What do...

What's this?

That looks kind of straight, Nushy.
What you're pointing to there.

So, it's getting a little bit of...

-Oh. What is that?
-What? What?

-What's that line?
-Wow. Wow.

Where's it going?

Wow. That's an incredible line.

It's 40 meters long.

Whoa. There's more.

Back.
Oh.

What is that, though? That's not...
That's...

-No.
-What?

-No.
-What is this?

-What?
-No.

-Such strange shapes.
-That's so weird.

-What the hell?
-Heaps of straight lines in that.

-That's big.
-Need a marker.

-It's, like, 70 meters.
-Looks very wreck-like.

-Strange.
-But it doesn't look like rock to me.

It looks like there's an object
on the bottom.

-My head's...
-Are you sure... What's that?

That's not something laying on its side?

-That's a ship!
-Oh, my goodness.

-No!
-That is it!

-What?
-Is it? Is it?

-Look at it!
-Right, how long is it?

-Are you sure?
-It's like...

-It's the right size.
-Look at it!

-Take a photo! Take a photo!
-It's laying on its side.

Oh, my God.

-Oh, my God!
-We found it!

-Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
-We did it.

-It's 70 meters long.
-Oh, my gosh.

-That's the same as the ship.
-That is 70 meters long.

And I'd be happy to say

that based on that length,

-we're looking at Rodondo.
-Oh!

Yes!

-What do we do?
-We found the Rodondo!

Oh, my God!

The drawing was right!

Oh!

Oh, my God.

It's sitting in sand.

That was our dream, we just wanted it
to be sitting in sand.

I can't wait to tell Ash.

-Oh.
-He's gonna lose it.

It's almost surreal to find it like this,
you know,

as far as shipwreck hunting goes, I mean,

it just does not get any better than this.

At 72 meters below the surface,

the wreck is too deep to dive,

so a remotely operated vehicle equipped
with multiple cameras will be deployed.

Right now, we're setting the boat up.
We'll put in two anchors,

so we can drift back
and get right on top of the wreck.

Then we're gonna put the ROV in
and finally get some eyes on this thing,

'cause we're actually losing our minds
about this right now.

It's amazing to actually say
we're on a wreck site.

I mean, no more targets.
We've done the targets.

Can't believe that we're right
in front of the Rodondo.

I know, it's over there
underneath that buoy. I just...

You know, no one's seen it for 130 years,

and we're about to get eyes on it.

-It's so crazy.
-It's amazing.

Look. Look!

It's perfect.

-I told you.
-Bloody told you.

-All right, it's going over.
-Roger.

In the water.

It all comes down to this moment.

We really need this ROV to perform.

Righto, head west.

This is our one shot to see
the first vision of the Rodondo.

Can you see the ROV, bud?

You're there,
almost dead in line with it.

Oh, my gosh.

-Oh!
-What?

-Oh!
-Yes!

-No, what are we...
-It is.

-Here it is. We've found it.
-Oh, wow, this is it.

-Oh, my goodness.
-The growth on it.

Far out.

-Wow.
-We've got our wreck.

-We found it.
-This is a wreck.

-Oh, my God.
-Crazy.

It felt so incredible
to be in control of the ROV.

We got to capture the first vision
of a 130-year-old shipwreck.

But I could definitely feel the pressure.

And I needed to capture
as much evidence as possible.

And we were so lucky,
we got to see the huge boiler.

Oh! There's a mast.

There's a massive mast
laying across the wreck.

-That's beautiful.
-Wow.

And I could see the ribs
of the hull of the ship.

And this huge bow section
standing up in the sand.

And then traveling around,

there is all this detail
that just makes it feel so real.

Oh, there's a bottle.

Oh, wow.

There is two.

There's champagne bottles
with the cork on 'em still.

And then stacked dinner plates.

And fully intact portholes.

-Oh, wow.
-That's so sick.

-In immaculate condition.
-Wow.

And you could only imagine
the captain looking out of them.

It's an absolutely massive site.

To think a 73-meter broken ship
sitting in the sand.

And I love now
that it's a thriving habitat

for so many fish and corals and sponges.

It's an absolute wonderland.

It just feels so surreal.

I can't believe we found Rodondo.

This vision is absolute treasure.

When you see a shipwreck like this,

that hasn't been, you know,
impacted by humans,

it really helps tell the story
of what happened

after it hit the reef and it sunk.

It's... What's the story after?

And it's seeing something like this
that really, you know,

helps shed that light.

The Shipwreck Hunters
have made history,

finding the wreck
of the 73-meter steamship Rodondo,

lost in 1894.

It's a significant discovery,

adding to the rich maritime history
of Australia.

To the Rodondo wreck site.

After five epic days at sea

and 12 hours of travel
back to the mainland,

the first thing to do

is call Captain Ash.

-Hello.
-Hey, you guys!

Well, we got some good news.

We got Rodondo.

Oh, my God.

Oh, wow.

So that's terrific news

for West Australian history,
I suppose, isn't it?

It's awesome.

Another one brought back to life.

Gee whiz.
That's crazy. Crazy, crazy.

So, 130 years of mystery solved.

So stoked, mate.

It was such an incredible effort
by everyone.

Man, wicked. That's awesome.
I can't believe it.

We're celebrating tonight.
We'll have one for ya.

You need to have more for yourselves.
Well done.

Thanks, Ash.

Cheers, buddy. Bye.

-Congratulations.
-See ya.

See ya, Legend. It's so good.

Weeks later,
back in the port city of Fremantle,

Johnny has made a breakthrough
finding a descendant

of the two young children
of the Rodondo shipwreck.

So, you've been busy doing some research.
What have you dug up?

So, I found this guy, Michael,
and he's the grandson of Jessie,

the little girl that was
on board the Rodondo.

He's in South Australia.

He knows a little bit about Jessie.

Never heard of the Rodondo before.

So, we're gonna give him a video call
and reveal to him what we know.

Hey, Michael,
thanks so much for your time.

I'm Johnny, and this is Ryan.
And we're from the Shipwreck Hunters team.

You must think it's strange
to be contacted by us out of the blue.

It was a bit.

So, Michael, your grandmother, Jessie,
and her brother, Alex,

were the only two children
on board the Rodondo

when it wrecked all that time ago.

I've got so much research
I wanna send you.

I've got birth certificates,
I've got records from the war.

It turns out
your ancestors were absolute legends.

So, Jessie, your grandmother,

she trained in the military
to become a nurse,

and she ended up working
on the Spanish flu pandemic,

which was super brave,
'cause a lot of doctors and nurses

were actually dying themselves
from this pandemic.

Also, her brother, he was the same.

So, Alex fought in Gallipoli
in World War I.

And then he was actually given an award
by the king for bravery.

He was an unstoppable man.

And the beauty is, Michael,

we've actually got a photo of Alex here
in his military uniform.

Not sure if you've ever laid eyes
on that before.

I didn't know about Alex
until you guys came along.

Our family were not great at passing on
history and information, I suppose.

Well, Michael, there's actually
an even bigger story to tell now

and you're gonna be one of the first
to know outside of our circle.

Our team have discovered
the Rodondo shipwreck.

That's fantastic.

We've got some vision here
that we've set up,

we're gonna show it to you now,
of the site.

That's incredible.

It's so clear, isn't it?

It was just something
that we'll never forget.

And I'm really excited for you
to, share that with us.

No. Thank you. It's fantastic.

And, Michael, I understand
you're a grandparent now.

Can you picture
what your ancestors went through

with their little children on board?

It would have been
such a traumatic experience.

We're grandparents very recently,
our granddaughter is 12 weeks.

Oh, wow.

And...

to think about her,
you know, being in a shipwreck

with our daughter, her mother,

and going through what Jessie went through

is very difficult to even think about it.

We know how you feel, mate,
and what you're saying.

We've both got little kids

and just the thought of them being
in any sort of danger is just unthinkable.

I can really feel it could
and would be just life-changing.

And so, I now feel sad

that I haven't been able
to talk to Jessie about it.

You know, it's a lost opportunity,
I guess.

Michael, you now own this story
and you're at the helm of it

and you have the chance
to share it with your whole family

and for it to become part
of your family legacy.

I won't waste it.

Thank you so much for meeting with us.
It means the world to us.

And thanks so much.

It's been a pleasure, and thank you also.

It really is quite meaningful.

Thanks, mate. See you later.
Cheers.

What an ending to the best adventure
I think I've ever been on.

Oh, my mind, Ry, my whole mind is blown
from start to finish.

How it all worked just couldn't have been
any crazier but beautiful.

It's perfect.

It feels like it's almost meant to be.

So, when I finally heard
they found the Rodondo,

I actually thought they were just
pulling my leg, I really did, because...

it's near on impossible.

But then they showed me some footage.

Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

I still really can't believe it.

It's actually found,
and the mystery has been solved.

Pretty remarkable
for a group of men and women

who were searching
in the middle of a huge ocean.

It just goes to show you that

you can find a needle in a haystack
if you keep looking.

You just got to keep trying.

Keep at it and never give up.