Victorian

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Iron Screw Steamer | Max Depth: 45 m (148 ft) — Graveyard

Victorian
© Unknown

Victorian Shipwreck History — Built in 1876

The Victorian was an iron screw steamer, built in 1876 by D & W Henderson, in Glasgow, Scotland, on a length of Units: unknown unit type given, a beam of 26.4 ft (8.05 m) and a depth of Units: no unit type given.

The Victorian together with the South Australian, were the first two ships built for the Adelaide Steamship Company Limited. Following its arrival in Adelaide in 1877, the Victorian had a long and interesting history, with a number of incidents and accidents occuring throughout the two phases of its working life.

The Victorian was first used as a general cargo and passenger carrier in Australian waters. Later, after being extensively damaged in a fire while laying in Johnstones Bay, Sydney, the Victorian was converted into a hulk. It was towed to Townsville to serve as a coal hulk. In 1909, the Victorian arrived in tow behing the SS Mintaro to serve as a coal hulk in Melbourne.

Victorian Sinking — Scuttled on 8 May 1925

The Victorian was dismantled stripped of anything of value, and on 8 May 1925, towed out through The Rip and scuttled in the Victorian Ships' Graveyard, Commonwealth Area No.3, Bass Strait.

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

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.

Finding the Victorian Shipwreck

It's unlikely the GPS mark from the Australian National Shipwreck Database is accurate. If anyone has an accurate mark, please pass it on to us.

Bass Strait Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive in Bass Strait on Victoria's coastline. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-in-bass-strait before diving or snorkelling this site.

Traditional Owners — This dive site does not lie in the acknowledged traditional Country of any first peoples of Australia.

 

Victorian Location Map

Latitude: 38° 21.000′ S   (38.35° S / 38° 21′ S)
Longitude: 144° 25.200′ E   (144.42° E / 144° 25′ 12″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-28 16:00:43 GMT
Source: Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database (approximate location only)
Nearest Neighbour: Beverwijk 19, 226 m, bearing 190°, S
Iron Screw Steamer, 718 ton.
Built: Glasgow, Scotland, 1876.
Scuttled: 8 May 1925.
Victorian Ships' Graveyard, Bass Strait.
Depth:45 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.