After nearly three decades exposed to the harsh elements of northern WA, a vital piece of Broome's World War II history has been restored.
The Dornier flying boat engine has been on display at the Broome Historical Museum since the late 1970s after it was retrieved from wrecks off the coast of Broome.
It is one of five Dorniers wrecked off the coast of North West during the 1942 air raid, an attack on the port city that left 88 dead.
The engine at the museum is one of two that have been retrieved, but years buried in the depths of Broome's turquoise waters left it worse for wear.
The king tides and mudflats of Kimberley caused severe erosion over its years at sea, leaving its metal engine rusted and flaking apart.
The museum was visited last week by a team that specialize in industrial repair and metal restoration to bring back the piece of Broome history.
Metals conservator Vanessa Roth travelled hundreds of kilometres to take part, and initially had concerns about how well the conservation would work due to the level of degradation.
She said that when things go into the water, there's a period where deterioration happens very quickly.
A calcium carbonate crust starts to help things settle, but if you disturb it again, it starts to deteriorate quite quickly. The race was on to save the engine, but Ms Roth was careful to keep its authenticity.
Michael Lake is a member of the Broome Historical SocietyBroome Historical Society, and he said that displaying the engine outside has had some benefits to the artefact's preservation.
The blessing is that every wet season, the engine gets doused with nice, fresh rainwater, he said.
We needed to do something to preserve it in a better condition. In the harsh climate of Broome, typical methods of conservation were going to be hard to do, with remoteness being the biggest issue, but Ms Roth was open to trying new treatments for the engine.
She said that a lot of things taken out of the ocean undergo a process of electrolysis, where it's put into a particular solution and then attached to an electric current.
Sponge-blasting was recommended, which could potentially take out chlorides from the metals and remove corrosion, so the team pushed on.
When the clean-up was done, it revealed a previously hidden serial number buried under layers of rust.
Ms Roth said that she's really thrilled that the sponge-blasting has been able to preserve and reveal a lot of detail.
The serial numbers will open the door for further research into the Broome air raid and World War II era.
Conservation treatment has been on the agenda for more than a decade.
The museum has been helped by a number of grants, including support from the Netherlands Embassy and the Consulate General in Australia.
Lake said that he was glad that the historic artefact can be appreciated as a vital part of the Broome air raid collection.
The engine is one of five Dorniers wrecked off the coast of the north-west, only 2 of which have been recovered. The other is on display at the Broome airport.
The engine is expected to stay in good shape for another 40 years with regular lanolin coatings and protection from the elements.