Regia

Wreck Dive | Shore access

Two-Masted Wooden Brig | Max Depth: 2 m (6.56 ft)

Regia Shipwreck
Source: Heritage Victoria

The remains of the Indian-built barque Regia lie in Portland Harbour, on Victoria's Discovery Coast. The Regia grounded during a severe gale, and the shipwreck can still be seen lying in two metres of water next to the reclaimed land on the Portland foreshore.

Diving and Snorkelling the Regia Shipwreck

Shore access to the Regia shipwreck dive site is from near the northern end of Lee Breakwater Road, west of the Portland Harbour, Lee Breakwater Rd North Boat Ramp.

Best dived in good conditions with a low swell with light north or northerly winds. See WillyWeather (Portland Harbour) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Regia Dive Sie Map | © The Scuba Doctor

Location: Portland Harbour, Portland, Victoria 3305

Regia Shipwreck History — Built in 1835

The Regia was a two-masted wooden brig of 181 tons, built in 1835 of teak at Cochin on the western coast of India. The vessel had a square stern, one and a half decks and was carvel built with dimensions of 80.9 ft (25 m) long, with a beam of 23 ft (7.01 m), and a depth of 13.5 ft (4.11 m). Rigged as a barque in 1840, rigged as a brig in 1847.

In 1836 the Regia arrived in Australian waters and was sold to Thomas Nunn and registered in Hobart. During a 24-year career in Australian waters, Regia was owned by twelve different individuals or groups.

The Regia had a varied career, carrying such diverse cargoes as sugar from Mauritius, rice from Surabaja, and whaling stores to New Zealand. Although working from Australian ports, the Regia was primarily involved in the International trade in the Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asian region.

The Regia has historical, archaeological, technical, social and interpretive significance for its construction, location and role in Portland's history. The Regia represents the boom period that occurred in Portland between 1840–1860 when no protective breakwater existed, and vessels were exposed to south-easterly gales.

Regia Sinking — Wrecked 16 November 1860

The Regia arrived in Portland from Mauritius and having discharged its cargo of sugar was lying at anchor off Portland when a severe gale from the south-east struck the west coast. On Friday 16 November 1860 a number of vessels including the brig Regia, schooner Eva and the barque Temora were driven ashore. The Regia had a small bower down but as the weather got worse the Master ordered another anchor dropped. It held its position until 4.00 p.m. when it parted both chains and grounded on the beach two cables north of the "new jetty". The crew were safely landed by the Harbour Master. The Lloyds Agent, Mr Horace Flower surveyed and condemned the vessel.

Only four Asian built vessels have been confirmed as being lost on the coast of Victoria during the 19th century. The Regia (Portland Bay) and Thistle (Port Fairy) are the only ones that has been located. The other two Asian built vessels were the Martha (built in Thailand) and Merope (built in Fort Gloster, Bengal, India).

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.

Gunditjmara country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Gunditjmara people of far south-western Victoria which continues over the state border into a small part of south-east South Australia and is bordered by the Glenelg River to the west and the Wannon River in the north. This truly ancient Country extends 100 metres out to sea from low tide and also includes Deen Maar (aka Lady Julia Percy Island) where the Gunditjmara believe the spirits of their dead travel to wait to be reborn. We wish to acknowledge the Gunditjmara as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

Regia Location Map

Latitude: 38° 20.707′ S (38.345116° S / 38° 20′ 42.42″ S)
Longitude: 141° 36.453′ E (141.607558° E / 141° 36′ 27.21″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2021-07-26 22:52:22 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-24 12:48:39 GMT
Source: GPS (verified)
Nearest Neighbour: Portland Lee Breakwater, 212 m, bearing 12°, NNE
Two-Masted Wooden Brig.
Built: Cochin, India, 1835.
Sunk: 16 November 1860.
Portland Harbour, Discovery Coast.
Depth: 2 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.