Victoria

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Wooden Barque | Max Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft)

When the Victoria ran onto the bar at Port Albert on 25 February 1863, it broke up rapidly drowning most of the cargo of livestock. The timber in the hull was later found to be rotten although the vessel was only five years old.

Victoria Shipweck History — Built in 1858

The Victoria was a wooden barque, built in 1858 , at Greenpoint, New York, USA, with a length of 116.4 m (382 ft), a breadth of 26.1 ft (7.96 m) and the depth of 12 ft (3.66 m).

Victoria Sinking — Wrecked 25 February 1863

After lying wind bound behind the Port Albert bar, the barque Victoria attempted to leave on 25 February 1863 for a voyage to New Zealand with a cargo of 60 fat cattle, 10 working bullocks and 10 horses. The discoloured state of the water caused by floods, and the absence of channel buoys which had all been washed away, made the channel difficult to navigate. The vessel struck the bar and began to take water.

As the tide rose, the waves began to break over the vessel and it was abandoned, breaking up soon after. Mariners at Port Albert were surprised by the rapidity at which the vessel disintegrated. Later, timber samples brought from the wreck were found to be badly decayed, even though the vessel was supposed to be only five years old.

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.

Gunaikurnai country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Gunaikurnai people of south-eastern Victoria including a large part of Gippsland. This truly ancient Country includes the coastal and inland areas to the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps, plus Buchan Caves, Port Albert, Moe, Morwell, Traralgon, Yarrum, Sale, Mafra, Bairnsdale, and Lakes Entrance. It also stretches 100 metres out to sea from low tide. "Gunaikurnai" is a name adopted by the people of the Brataualung, Brayakaulung, Brabralung, Krauatungalung and Tatungalung family clans. We wish to acknowledge the Gunaikurnai as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

Victoria Location Map

Latitude: 38° 43.014′ S (38.7169° S / 38° 43′ 0.84″ S)
Longitude: 146° 33.554′ E (146.559233° E / 146° 33′ 33.24″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2019-02-25 08:22:54 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-26 23:44:28 GMT
Source: Unknown
Nearest Neighbour: Albert, Lakes Entrance, 9,355 m, bearing 111°, ESE
Wooden Barque.
Built: Greenpoint, New York, USA, 1858.
Sunk: 25 February 1863.
Depth: 1 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.