Albert, Lakes Entrance

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Three-Masted Wooden Schooner | Max Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft)

Albert
© Unknown

Level: Open Water and beyond.

The Albert shipwreck lies near Lakes Entrance on the East Coast of Victoria.

See WillyWeather (Lakes Entrance Outer) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Albert Shipwreck History — Built in 1864

The Albert was a three-masted wooden schooner, built in 1864, in Footscray, Victoria, on a length of 62.1 ft (19 m), a beam of 17.8 ft (5.43 m), and a draught of 5.4 ft (1.65 m).

Albert Sinking — 27 March 1874

On 27 March 1874, while on a voyage from Melbourne To Gippsland Lakes the schooner Albert ran onto a bank in west channel at the entrance to the Gippsland Lakes. Attempts were made to lighten the Albert, but it capsized and broke the mast. The vessel was eventually righted, but went to pieces shortly after. The shifting sand banks of the original entrance to the Gippsland Lakes often proved to be dangerous to shipping.

See also, Heritage Council Victoria: Albert, and
Australian National Shipwreck Database: Albert.

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.

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.

Gunaikurnai country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Gunaikurnai people of south-eastern Victoria including a large part of Gippsland. This truly ancient Country includes the coastal and inland areas to the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps, plus Buchan Caves, Port Albert, Moe, Morwell, Traralgon, Yarrum, Sale, Mafra, Bairnsdale, and Lakes Entrance. It also stretches 100 metres out to sea from low tide. "Gunaikurnai" is a name adopted by the people of the Brataualung, Brayakaulung, Brabralung, Krauatungalung and Tatungalung family clans. We wish to acknowledge the Gunaikurnai as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

 

Albert, Lakes Entrance Location Map

Latitude: 38° 44.862′ S   (38.7477° S / 38° 44′ 51.72″ S)
Longitude: 146° 39.576′ E   (146.6596° E / 146° 39′ 34.56″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-29 01:31:52 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Clonmel, 1,631 m, bearing 75°, ENE
Three-Masted Wooden Schooner.
Built: Footscray, Victoria, 1864.
Sunk: 27 March 1874.
Depth: 1 m.

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.