Cheviot

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Three-Masted Wooden Barque | Max Depth: 5 m (16 ft)

The Cheviot foundered in the Waterloo Bay anchorage on the eastern side of Wilsons Promontory on 24 March 1854.

The Cheviot shipwreck is historically significant for being associated with Hobart whalers James Kelly, William Mansfield and Charles Seal, who all owned the Cheviot at some stage in their careers. When Charles Seal died, ownership of the Cheviot and the rest of his whaling and cargo/passenger ships passed into the hands of his wife Phillis Seal, making her the first woman shipowner, and fleet owner in Australia. The Cheviot is archaeologically significant for representing the remains of an early 19th century Atlantic, South Seas, and colonial Australian whaling vessel, and is one of only a handful of shipwreck sites relating to the whaling industry in Victoria.

Diving the Cheviot Shipwreck

The Cheviot shipwreck is lying on SW-NE axis with the bow facing SW and is 27.7 metres in length. It only rises 1.5 metres from the bottom but the number of fish congregating over the site gives it a good sonar return. The stern is identified by a dudgeon in situ on the sternpost. There was no sign of the rudder.

The wreck is heeled over on its port side. There were no anchors at the bow, suggesting it sank while anchored in a SW wind. Little remains of the stem and the outline of the bow area is indistinguishable or buried, a couple of very large copper alloy bolts about 1 metre in length as if from the deadwood are near the bow.

The cargo consists of bricks, lime and rounded riverine rock ballast. Also in evidence are iron hanging knees, numerous copper alloy bolts, an iron mast band, concretions, remains of an iron rigging chainplate on the starboard side, iron pipe, pulleys from the rigging and a large as yet unidentified concretion approx 2-metre square made up of indeterminate material, though possibly iron or lime. It may be a water tank, or remains of a lime cargo, or some other object.

There is evidence of extensive teredo worm activity on the exposed timbers, and the site appears to be subject to occasional burial and scouring. There is no wood left above the sheathing line and no sign of any heavy timber frames or knees. The keelson or sister keelson appears to have been eaten away leaving large protruding copper alloy bolts indicating the angle of heel. The timbers exposed were heavy planks in the midships area and may be ceiling planking or outer planking. These also had evidence of teredo activity. Only one remnant of timber was observed, on the port side towards the bow. If the wreck is in fact buried to its sheathing line there would be substantial remains buried.

A concretion in the bow area may be a capstan.

Ideal Conditions: The Cheviot is best dived with calm seas, no swell and no wind. Light offshore north-westerly to south-westerly winds may be acceptable. Avoid strong onshore north-easterly to southerly winds. See WillyWeather (Waterloo Bay) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

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.

Cheviot Shipwreck History — Built in 1827

The Cheviot was built in 1827 by Philip Laing in Sunderland, England as an armed, three-masted snow brig, copper sheathed over wood. The vessel of 251 l-ton (255 t) was built on the dimensions of 91.2 ft (28 m) in length, a breadth of 25.1 ft (7.65 m) and a draught of 5.3 ft (1.62 m).

The vessel was owned by William J. Mansfield of Hobart and worked as a whaler out of Hobart for many years until the beginning of the Victorian gold rush. Lloyds Register indicates voyages to Quebec in 1830-31 and then the 'Southern Fisheries' in 1832-3, so it may have been whaling on the Atlantic coast of Canada as well.

Prior to the southern whaling voyage, the Cheviot was sold and appears to have had another deck added as the tonnage is also increased. It was whaling through to 1837 when it was re-registered in Hobart under the ownership of Captain James Kelly. From that time the primary activity of the Cheviot was inter-colonial trade, while the whaling voyages became less frequent — probably as the catches diminished due to overfishing.

In 1842 the Cheviot was sold to Charles Seal and William John Mansfield of Hobart. After Seal's death, Mansfield bought out his partner's share. Mansfield then lost his ownership of the vessel in 1853, though remained as master until the vessel was lost at Waterloo Bay, twelve months later.

Cheviot Sinking — 24 March 1854

It was confirmed the crew of the Cheviot had gained the shore the the vessel's boats, but nothing indicated the whereabouts of the Cheviot crew or their fate. The Hellespont continued on its voyage with salvaged sails and rigging from the sunken vessel.

Within a week, the captain of the Cheviot was reported to have arrived in Hobart on the Glencoe, with no further details as to what had happened. It's still a mystery as to how the Cheviot foundered while at anchor in Waterloo Bay and, and what happened to the crew.

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

If you're looking for the Cheviot wreck at Cheviot Bay on the Back Beaches of Mornington Peninsula, please see SS Cheviot.

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.

Finding the Cheviot Shipwreck

It's unlikely the GPS mark from the Australian National Shipwreck Database is accurate. If anyone has an accurate mark, please let us know.

Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park

This site lies in Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park, Victoria's largest marine sanctuary. There is a huge diversity of marine life within the waters at the Prom. Brilliantly coloured fish are present such as the Red Velvetfish, Eastern Blue Groper and Wrasse as well as Leafy Seadragons and schools of Barber Perch. Intertidal molluscs such as limpets and snails, as well as anemones, brittlestars and seastars, are also common within the waters.

Divers will experience fascinating sponge gardens which consist of a techni-coloured assemblage of sponges, sea tulips, sea whips, lace corals and seafans. Octopus emerge at night whilst sharks and rays roam the sandy areas.

The offshore islands support many colonies of fur seals and oceanic birds such as Little Penguins, Fairy Prions, Silver Gulls and Pacific Gulls.

See also, Parks Victoria: Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park,
Park Note: Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park, and
Wikipedia: Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park.

You are not permitted to carry a spear gun while snorkelling or scuba diving in Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park.

Boon Wurrung / Bunurong country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes parts of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson's Promontory in the south-east, including the Mornington Peninsula, French Island and Phillip Island, plus Western Port. We wish to acknowledge the Boon Wurrung as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.

 

Cheviot Location Map

Latitude: 39° 4.800′ S   (39.08° S / 39° 4′ 48″ S)
Longitude: 146° 26.400′ E   (146.44° E / 146° 26′ 24″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2019-03-14 07:48:38 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-27 09:36:12 GMT
Source: Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database (approximate location only)
Nearest Neighbour: Waterloo Point, 980 m, bearing 167°, SSE
Three-Masted Wooden Barque.
Built: 1827.
Sunk: 24 March 1854.
Waterloo Bay.
Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park.
Depth: 5 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.