Monarch

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Three-Masted Wooden Barque | Max Depth: 4 m (13 ft)

Monarch Dive
Source: Heritage Victoria

Level: Open Water and beyond.

The Monarch lies between the Coles and West Channels, at the south-western end of Port Phillip.

The Monarch is archaeologically significant as one of the most complete wooden wrecks in Victoria.

Monarch Shipwreck History — Built in 1836

The Monarch was a three-masted wooden barque of 269 l-ton (273 t), built in 1836, at Southampton, United Kingdom, on a length of 142 ft (43 m), a breadth of 23.9 ft (7.28 m) in a depth of 13.1 ft (3.99 m). The vessel was carvel built, with a single deck and was registered in Melbourne to owners James Lewis and Colman Burke.

Monarch Sinking — 17 July 1867

The Monarch was on a voyage from Melbourne to Sydney in ballast, under the command of Captain T Blake. As the Monarch entered the West Channel, the weather began to close in obscuring all navigation lights. Despite the best efforts of all on board, on 17 July 1867, the Monarch ran aground on the western bank between the West and Coles channels.

Initially it was thought that the Monarch could be forced over the sand into Coles Channel, but these efforts failed and had to be abandoned as the Monarch began to take on water at a faster rate than the pumps could cope with. With the arrival of the steam tug Resolute, hopes were raised for getting the Monarch off.

Seabird, close by, broke up about same time. The tug Titan also failed in rescue attempt. Registry closed 6 Aug 1867.

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.

Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong 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.

Monarch Location Map

Latitude: 38° 12.640′ S (38.210667° S / 38° 12′ 38.4″ S)
Longitude: 144° 43.304′ E (144.721733° E / 144° 43′ 18.24″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-27 17:43:34 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: Foig a Ballagh, 397 m, bearing 27°, NNE
Three-Masted Wooden Barque.
Built: 1836.
Sunk: 17 July 1867.
Depth: 4 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.