Deepwater wrecks
Kanowna - courtesy State Library of Victoria
More than 800 wrecks are known to have been lost off the coast of Victoria and only about 30% of them have been found. The majority of known wrecks were located when SCUBA diving became accessible and popular during the 1970s and 1980s. Most of these sites were located by recreational divers in fairly shallow coastal areas.
Ships' graveyards
Victoria also has one of the most accessible of Australia’s ships’ graveyards, with 46 shipwrecks dumped between 1913 and 1999, with most of the ships scuttled during the 1920s and 1930s.
Ships graveyards are places where vessels that had reached the end of their working life (usually for economic or technological reasons) were deliberately scuttled after any recyclable and valuable components had been salvaged.
The location, in Bass Strait off Barwon Heads, was selected for its deepwater so that the wrecks did not become navigation hazards to vessels travelling through Bass Strait or into Port Phillip.
The depth of the sites varies from 26 metres to 80 metres, with most of the wrecks lying in 40 – 60 metres of water. The types of wrecks represented include sailing and steam ships, hopper barges, tug boats and J-class submarines.
Accessibility
The accessibility of these sites is the likely catalyst to deepwater wreck diving in Victoria. Although the coast of Victoria is shallow by ocean standards, Bass Strait is still considered reasonably deep (for diving) with a maximum depth of 100 metres. The seabed off Wilsons Promontory and East Gippsland drops rapidly down to 50 metres just a short distance off the coast, with much of the central Bass Strait area around 80 metres deep.
Bass Strait
Traversing Bass Strait was known by mariners as “threading the eye of the needle”, with its scattered small islands and rocky outcrops, and it was a hazard for many ships even good weather. In rough conditions vessels can encounter swells of more than 8 metres, and ‘lost in Bass Strait - bound for…’ is a common entry in Heritage Victoria’s shipwreck database .
Southern Ocean Exploration (SOE)
These deepwater sites set the scene for the most discoveries of shipwrecks in Victoria for many years by a dedicated and enthusiastic group of divers with an interest in shipwrecks, maritime history and deep diving. The team, Southern Ocean Exploration (SOE) use a wide range of skills and technology, especially meticulous project planning and remote sensing equipment, to conduct searches for deep iron and steel shipwrecks. In 2005 SOE located two highly significant historic shipwrecks, the TSS Kanowna (1929) and the SS Queensland (1876), both in more than 60 metres of water. In 2006 they located two elusive Ships Graveyard wrecks, the Brunette (1913) and the Don Diego (1916) and so far in 2007 they have located the wreck of the coastal trader SS Alert (1893).
Many of the Southern Ocean Exploration team are graduates of the AIMA/NAS Maritime Archaeology Program. Some are also members of the Maritime Archaeology Association of Victoria (MAAV). They use knowledge gained from the course, their private research and accepted ethical archaeological practices to perform searches and share their discoveries.
All of the wrecks above lie in more than 60 metres of water, preventing access by most recreational divers. Southern Ocean Exploration works closely with Heritage Victoria to further research, record and locate historic shipwrecks in deepwater. For more information about Southern Ocean Exploration go to www.southernoceanexploration.com.
To find out how you can be a shipwreck researcher and discover some of Victoria’s missing shipwrecks contact heritage.victoria@dpcd.vic.gov.au.
SS Alert
SS Alert is one of Victoria’s genuine maritime tragedies. A coastal trading vessel, it was on its newly acquired run from East Gippsland to Melbourne when it was caught in a fierce gale off Cape Schanck on 28th December 1893. The Alert was an iron steamer of 243 gross tons built by Robert Duncan, Port Glasgow, Scotland in 1877.
SS Alert, courtesy M Ryan, SOE
With three passengers and thirteen crew aboard, only one person made it to safety – Robert Ponting, the ship’s cook.
A team of researchers and divers from Southern Ocean Exploration (SOE) discovered the SS Alert on June 3rd 2007.
SS Alert lies in 75 metres of water 10kms south west of Cape Schanck. It sits upright on the seabed, resting evenly on its keel. The wreck is largely intact with the counter stern forming an impressive sight, the rudder post and propeller hub are tucked in underneath this feature.
To add to the mystery of the wreck, the propeller is missing its blades and further investigation is required to ascertain the reason for this anomaly.
The vessel is a great example of an untouched time capsule, with porthole rims and glass littered across both sides of the aft section of the ship, and much of the hull plating has collapsed. On the port side there is a section of hull with iron knees protruding from the sand.
SS Alert artefact, Queenscliff Maritime Museum
Other associated wreck material lies off to the sides, including bottles, ship’s crockery, oil lamps and other utensils.
The boiler is a major feature of the site and it is surrounded by many fragments of wreck, including the compass binnacle, which lies off to the starboard side. The forecastle stands some metres above the rest of the wreck. Wooden decking is still visible and the forward hold contains signal lanterns and a small donkey engine. The ship’s anchor is still lashed to the forward deck with the anchor davit in the upright position.
Additional research by SOE into the wreck revealed some interesting finds on land. In looking for the graves of some of the sailors washed ashore, previously unmarked graves were identified at the local Sorrento cemetery. Steps are now being taken to recognize the sailors’ graves and their tragic story.
Team members are also continuing the investigation of the history of the wreck and its crew. Relatives of Robert Ponting from England have made contact and have provided further details of Robert and his family after the wreck.
Southern Ocean Exploration has completed further dives to explore the wreck and to document the site. The team recently performed measurements of the hull, confirming the length and boiler position. The site is being further documented through video and stills photography. A site plan is being compiled with pieces of information discovered from each dive.
Text: Martin Tozer, Southern Ocean Exploration
Find out more about the SS Alert project managed by Southern Ocean Exploration.
SS Alert is on the Victorian Heritage Register
The City Of Rayville
The City Of Rayville was the first US vessel lost in World War II and is one of four World War II wrecks in Victoria. The wreckage lies 14km South of Cape Otway at a depth of 82 metres on a sandy seabed and is beyond the working dive depths of Heritage Victoria divers.
While the location of the wreck has been known since 1997, recent collaboration with Deakin University has enabled archaeologists to see the condition of the wreck for the first time.
Researchers used multibeam sonar to collect images of the overall layout, and the use of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) has provided video and still images of the wreck for a more detailed inspection of the site.
The multibeam images collected by Deakin University show the City of Rayville lying in over 70 metres of water upright on its keel with a small list to one side.
The image suggests that ship is virtually intact, with the bridge still upstanding above the deck. There is a little debris over the site, and a hatch cover near the stern is missing, consistent with reports that covers were blown off the hatches through the force of the explosion. Sediments have built up to the south-west of the wreck, and there is a deep scour on the northern side.
The site has been specifically declared an historic shipwreck under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 and divers are able to visit the site without the need for a permit. As the site is protected, it is an offence to take objects from the site, or to damage any part of the site.
Because the site is too deep for us to visit, we would appreciate any photographs or video of the site from technical divers who do have the qualifications and experience to visit the site.
This will help us to monitor the condition of the site, and ensure that the site remains in good condition for the future.
History of the final voyage
The City Of Rayville began its last voyage in 1940 at Port Pirie as a unit of the American Pioneer Line where it loaded 37,520 bars (1500 tons) of Pirie lead.
On November 8, 1940 at 7.47pm, as the City Of Rayville entered Bass Strait, it hit a mine laid by a German ship called the Passat. The Passat, previously named the Storstad, had been captured by the Nazi’s and turned the ship into an auxiliary minelayer. Over the course of two days the Passat laid about 100 mines including 40 mines off Cape Otway.
When the City Of Rayville hit the mine, the Cape Otway lighthouse keeper saw a shot of flame whilst Apollo Bay locals heard the blast. Captain Cronin ordered radio operator Fred A Gritzer to send out an S.O.S with the ship’s position.
The ship’s lifeboats were launched within four minutes, and 37 of the 38 of the ship’s crew were able to depart the ship, which already had its stern in the air. One of the engineers attempted to retrieve personal belongings from his locker, but was unlucky and drowned as the ship sank. The wreck may still contain the remains of the drowned engineer.
The Apollo Bay fishermen bravely launched three boats into the darkness to look for survivors from the wreck. The first of the City Of Rayville’s lifeboats was spotted at 10.20pm. The surviving 37 crew and all the rescuers returned safely to Apollo Bay, and the crew were put up over night at the Ballarat Hotel.
The sinking of the City Of Rayville followed that of the British cargo ship SS Cambridge less than 24 hours before. The Cambridge also sank with the loss of one life after striking a mine off Wilson’s Promontory, also laid by the German ship Passat.
The City Of Rayville was
- built in 1920 by Oscar Daniels & Co. of Tampa, Florida
- a steel hulled steamer of 5883 tons gross
- 401.9 feet (122.5m) long
- 54.2 feet (16.5m) wide
- 31.3 feet (9.5m) deep
- converted to run on diesel in 1927