SA man surprised to find urn nestled in seagrass at scenic diving spot

A diver exploring the scenic sights along South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula discovered an unusual sight recently.

David Muirhead said he was about 20 metres out from the Rapid Bay jetty on December 9 when he saw an urn lying in the seagrass, about 6 metres deep.

“I saw this reflection of something silvery off to my right,” he said.

An experienced diver for more than 50 years, Mr Muirhead thought it may have been the head of a snapper reflecting the light.

“I saw this glint and I had to deviate a few metres off my course to see what it was,” he said.

It turned out to be an urn with the lid on, and Mr Muirhead took a quick photo before catching up to his diving partner.

“I noticed it was lying on the sea grass with some print on it, born and died [dates] and the name of the chap … I took a quick shot hoping it would show up on the camera,” he said.

Back at home, Mr Muirhead zoomed in on the photo on his computer and could make out the first two names, Peter Kevin, and part of the surname.

Mr Muirhead could also read the date of birth as June 15, 1954, and the date of death as June 28, 2013, making the man 59 years old at the time of his death.

The Marine Life Society of South Australia posted Mr Muirhead’s photos on social media hoping someone would know how the urn came to be in the sea grass, but no one has.

Rapid Bay, about 100 kilometres south of Adelaide, is a popular diving spot and home to leafy sea dragons.

Mr Muirhead said there were plenty of potential explanations, including the possibility that the urn was accidentally dropped in before the ashes could be scattered.

“Certainly it’s unusual … I know people sprinkle ashes off boats and the end of jetties,” he said.

In October, Queensland woman Chantal Clarke found an urn had washed up on a Gold Coast beach.

The urn belonged to a South Australian man, George Esztergomy, who passed away in 2014.