Auriga

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Three-Masted Iron Barque | Max Depth: 57 m (187 ft) — Graveyard

Auriga
Source: State Library Victoria

The Auriga was a three-masted iron barque that had previously been involved in the Australian to New Zealand trade, and the coal trade. It was used by the Melbourne Harbour Trust as a hulk until it was scuttled. The Auriga shipwreck lies in Bass Strait just NNE of the Campana. It is considered to be one of the Victorian Ships' Graveyard wreck dives.

Bass Strait Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive in Bass Strait on Victoria's coastline. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-in-bass-strait before diving or snorkelling this site.

Auriga Shipwreck History — Built in 1869

The Auriga was a three-masted iron barque of 540 tons gross and 518 tons net, built in 1869, by Ilif, Mounsey & Co., in Sunderland, United Kingdom on the dimensions of 164.5 ft (50 m) in length, with a beam of 28.1 ft (8.56 m) and a draught of 17.3 ft (5.27 m).

Auriga Sinking — Scuttled 5 February 1930

The tug Keera towed the Auriga to its final resting place in the Victorian Ships' Graveyard. The Auriga was scuttled on 5 February 1930 just east of the Campana. It was sunk using twenty plugs of blasting gelatin made into three separate charges. The fuses were littered 8:08 a.m. and exploded 12 minutes later. At 8:26 a.m., still floating on an even keel, the Auriga sank beneath the surface into the depths of Bass Strait.

Heritage Warning: Any shipwreck or shipwreck relic that is 75 years or older is protected by legislation. Other items of maritime heritage 75 years or older are also protected by legislation. Activities such as digging for bottles, coins or other artefacts that involve the disturbance of archaeological sites may be in breach of the legislation, and penalties may apply. The legislation requires the mandatory reporting to Heritage Victoria as soon as practicable of any archaeological site that is identified. See Maritime heritage. Anyone with information about looting or stolen artefacts should call Heritage Victoria on (03) 7022 6390, or send an email to heritage.victoria@delwp.vic.gov.au.

Traditional Owners — This dive site does not lie in the acknowledged traditional Country of any first peoples of Australia.

Auriga Location Map

Latitude: 38° 20.771′ S (38.346175° S / 38° 20′ 46.23″ S)
Longitude: 144° 34.210′ E (144.570168° E / 144° 34′ 12.6″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-03 22:39:26 GMT
Source: Book - Victoria's Ships' Graveyard GPS (verified)
Nearest Neighbour: Campana, 178 m, bearing 209°, SSW
Three-Masted Iron Barque, 540 ton.
Built: Sunderland, UK, 1869.
Scuttled: 5 February 1930.
Victorian Ships' Graveyard, Bass Strait.
Depth: 55 to 57 m.

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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.