This plummet came from S.S. Auckland which was wrecked at Beware Reef near Cape Conran in 1871. The S.S. Aukland was a two masted , iron screw steamer built by C. Mitchell & Co. in 1863 in Newcastle, England. It was owned by the Australasian Steam Navigation Company who modified it in Sydney. In May 1871, on a voyage from Melbourne to Sydney, it ran into breakers and struck Beware Reef. Conditions were foggy and there was a strong easterly current. All passengers and crew were rescued by the S.S. Macedon. (ref. Victorian Heritage Database)The S.S. Aucckland is archaelogically significant. Beware Reef Marine Sanctuary is located five kilometres south east of Cape Conran. On one side of the reef lie the remains of old shipwrecks, including the SS Auckland, a steamship wrecked on the reef in 1871.A tapered conical shaped piece of a lead, a plummet, used for measuring the depth of water.s.s.aukland beware-reef sounding-lead shipwreck