Essington

Wreck Dive | Shore access

Wooden Sailing Brig | Max Depth: 11 m (36 ft)

The Essington shipwreck lies in Port Fairy Bay off Battery Lane on Victoria's Shipwreck Coast.

Diving the Essington shipwreck requires calm conditions and a very low swell. See WillyWeather (Port Fairy Bay) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Essington History

The Essington was a two-masted wooden brig of 123 tons built in 1826 as the Isabella at the Government Dockyard, Sydney. The vessel was 76 ft (23 m) in length with a beam of 19 ft (5.79 m) and a depth of 11 ft (3.35 m).

Diving the Essington requires calm conditions and a very low swell. See WillyWeather (Port Fairy Bay) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Essington Sinking

The brig Essington anchored at Port Fairy and commenced to unload cargo. A south-easterly gale sprang up on Sunday 2 May 1952, which gradually increased in strength, bringing a heavy swell into Port Fairy Bay. The Essington parted from its best bower anchor but was brought up on its small bower anchor. However, the vessel went ashore at 3 am on Monday 3 May 1852 and struck to the bottom in the trough of one wave. As the Essington rode at anchor, it continued to strike the bottom, but it was not making any water. One heavy sea caused the vessel to strike and break the rudder. The anchor began to drag causing the Essington to strike the bottom further as it moved towards the beach. By this time the hull was making water faster than the pumps could cope.

When the gale and the sea moderated, attempts were made to unload the cargo, but the water continued to gain on the pumps. A kedge anchor was run ashore and the vessel hauled upon it. All fittings and cargo were then removed and the Essington was abandoned.

The shipwreck of the brig Essington is archaeologically significant for its remains of an early Australian built vessel. It is historically significant for its role in the whaling industry and in the early development of Victoria, and for its association with the pioneers' Captain Mills and John Griffiths.

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.

Eastern Maar country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Eastern Maar people of south-western Victoria between the Shaw and Eumerella Rivers and from Yambuk in the south to beyond Lake Linlithgow in the north. This truly ancient Country extends as far north as Ararat and encompasses the coastal townships of Port Fairy in the west, Warrnambool, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Lorne, and Airies Inlet in the east, including the Great Ocean Road area. It also stretches 100 metres out to sea from low tide and therefore includes the iconic Twelve Apostles. "Eastern Maar" is a name adopted by the people who identify as Maar, Eastern Gunditjmara, Tjap Wurrung, Peek Whurrong, Kirrae Whurrung, Kuurn Kopan Noot and/or Yarro waetch (Tooram Tribe) amongst others. We wish to acknowledge the Eastern Maar as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

Essington Location Map

Latitude: 38° 23.217′ S (38.386945° S / 38° 23′ 13″ S)
Longitude: 142° 14.617′ E (142.243612° E / 142° 14′ 37″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-23 19:06:01 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: Thistle, Port Fairy, 320 m, bearing 359°, N
Two-master wooden brig.
Built: Government Dockyard, Sydney, 1826.
Sunk: 3 May 1852.
Port Fairy, Shipwreck Coast.
Depth: 11 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.