Pinafore

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Wooden Steam Launch | Max Depth: 20 m (66 ft)

Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond.

The Pinafore shipwreck lies 7–8 miles to the north of the West Channel Pile Light in Port Phillip, near the Eleutheria and City of Launceston shipwrecks.

Pinafore Shipwreck History

The Pinafore was an unregistered wooden steam launch of between three and five tons The vessel was owned at the time of its loss, by Mr G.A. McGowen of Footscray.

Pinafore Sinking — 27 October 1893

While being towed up Port Phillip on a voyage from Western Port to Williamstown by the steam tug Amy, the Pinafore began shipping water when the light northerly breeze freshened to a gale and ran up a strong sea. Bailing was ineffectual, so Captain Wilkins stopped Amy's engines to allow Pinafore's crew, and its master Captain C.T. White, to board for safety.

Just as Pinafore ranged alongside a heavy sea broke over the vessel, causing it to founder head first. The Pinafore was reported to have sunk on 27 October 1893, in 10 fm (18 m) of water, 7–8 miles to the north of the West Channel Pile Light.

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

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.

 

Pinafore Location Map

Latitude: 38° 4.682′ S   (38.078033° S / 38° 4′ 40.92″ S)
Longitude: 144° 49.406′ E   (144.823433° E / 144° 49′ 24.36″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-11 04:18:07 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: Eleutheria, 140 m, bearing 78°, ENE
Wooden Steam Launch.
Sunk: 27 October 1893.
Port Phillip.
Depth: 20 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.