Diana, Point Cooke

Wreck Dive | Shore access

Wooden Cutter | Max Depth: 6 m (20 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

The Diana shipwreck lies offshore in the Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary, about one kilometre south-west of Point Cook in north-western Port Phillip.

Diving and Snorkelling the Diana Shipwreck

If tackled as a shore dive, the Diana lies 296 metres, bearing 201°, south-south-west of the Point Cooke Homestead dive entrance point. Of course, it can also be accessed as a boat dive.

Point Cooke Homestead Dive Site Map | © The Scuba Doctor

Point Cooke Homestead Parking

Location: Point Cook, Victoria 3030.
MELWAY Ref: Page 12 G11

Parking: There is parking at the end of Homestead Entrance Road at the Point Cooke Homestead. From Melbourne follow the M1 to Central Ave (41) in Altona Meadows. Take exit 14 from M1 and travel south on Point Cook Rd. Turn left into Point Cook Homestead Road and at the end turn right into Homestead Entrance Road in Point Cook. Before gearing up check out the water. If you see lots of white water, head on home.

Facilities: The historic old homestead and a cafe, are close by.

Warning: Always go with a buddy and carry a dive knife. Make sure you tow a dive buoy with dive flag.

Entry/Exit: Walk about 225 metres south west from the car park at the homestead, down to the shore.

Ideal Conditions: There is little background swell in this part of Port Phillip — the water is calm when the wind is still. In moderate winds the waves are choppy and under 0.5 metre. Best with light to moderate offshore north-westerly to north-easterly winds, or light onshore easterly to westerly winds. Not diveable in strong southerly winds. Avoid after rains due to the rain runoff reducing viability. Though high tide is ideal, you are able to dive at here on any tide. See WillyWeather (Point Cook) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Diana Shipwreck History — Built in 1841

The Diana was a wooden cutter of Units: unknown unit type given, built in 1841, by John Hely, at Launceston, Tasmania. She was built on a length of 44 ft (13 m), a breadth of 9.9 ft (3.02 m) and a draught of 6.1 ft (1.86 m).

The Diana was a bay and coastal trader with runs between Launceston, Western Port, Geelong, Melbourne and Port Fairy. Later the Diana was a lighter on the Yarra River.

Diana Sinking — 23 December 1877

The Diana was on a voyage from Schnapper Point to Melbourne laden with firewood under the command of Captain J Stuart. The Diana sprang a leak on Saturday, 23 December 1877 off Point Cooke, and for the safety of those on board she was run ashore on Point Cooke Reef. All of the crew were safely rescued by a fishing boat. The cutter was owned at the time of its demise by Rees Owen, mariner, of Williamstown.

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 Diana 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.

Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary

Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary is located in the north-east corner of Port Phillip, a mere 30 minute drive from Melbourne. The park protects 290 hectare of a typical Port Phillip western shoreline. Pods of bottlenose dolphins visit the sanctuary and in summer, swarms of jellyfish pulsate over the reef.

The Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary extends from the high water mark to between 750 m and 1.1 km offshore, marked by a series of inwater navigational marks. The shoreline boundary is 3.4 km long, beginning at the onshore marker west of the Point Cook Homestead and running east along the foreshore around Point Cooke to the onshore marker at the southern boundary of the Cheetham Wetlands.

Point Cooke Bathymetry
Source: Parks Victoria

Aboriginal tradition indicates that the sanctuary is part of Country of Boon Wurrung people.

Diving and snorkelling sites at Point Cooke include two heritage listed shipwrecks — Diana (inside the sanctuary) and Henrietta (outside the sanctuary). Many small fish and invertebrates can be seen on the rocky reef.

You are not permitted to carry a spear gun while snorkelling or scuba diving in Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary.

Boon Wurrung / Bunurong country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes parts of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson's Promontory in the south-east, including the Mornington Peninsula, French Island and Phillip Island, plus Western Port. We wish to acknowledge the Boon Wurrung as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.

Diana, Point Cooke Location Map

Latitude: 37° 55.800′ S (37.93° S / 37° 55′ 48″ S)
Longitude: 144° 47.400′ E (144.79° E / 144° 47′ 24″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2018-01-27 04:09:10 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-27 09:48:03 GMT
Source: Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database (approximate location only)
Nearest Neighbour: Point Cooke Homestead, 296 m, bearing 21°, NNE
Wooden Cutter.
Built: 1841.
Lost: 23 December 1877.
Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary.
Point Cook, Port Phillip.
Depth: 6 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.