Lady Mildred

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Steel Screw Steamer | Max Depth: 25 m (82 ft)

Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond.

The steam collier Lady Mildred (aka SS Lady Mildred) ran ashore in hazy weather on the eastern side of Wilsons Promontory. The cliffs face east into Bass Strait and the dive site is in the Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park. The vessel could not be salvaged and was abandoned. The master was found guilty of gross misconduct by a Court of Marine Inquiry.

Diving the Lady Mildred Shipwreck

The Lady Mildred shipwreck lies in 6 to 25 metres of water near a 10 metre rock face south of Waterloo Point. (The rock face has a cleft with red lichen staining the south rocks.) Most of the wreckage is in 10 to 15 metres of water and includes a 2-metre long anchor, lots of anchor chain, hawse pipe, bollards and part of the iron frames of the vessel lie in gullies and overhangs in the reef. Some areas of the ships hull retain structural integrity including a section of cabin reported by Carl Ebbels.

Ideal Conditions: The Lady Mildred is best dived with calm seas, no swell and no wind. Light offshore south-westerly to north-westerly winds may be acceptable. Avoid strong onshore northerly to southerly winds. See WillyWeather (Waterloo Bay) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

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.

Lady Mildred Shipwreck History #8212; Built in 1902

The Lady Mildred was a steel screw steamer of Units: unknown unit type given and Units: unknown unit type given, built in 1902, by the Blythe Shipbuilding Company Ltd in Blythe, England. The vessel was built on the dimensions of 287.2 ft (88 m) in length, a breadth of 43.3 ft (13 m) and a draught of 19.45 ft (5.93 m).

The steamer was owned by the Lombard Steamship Company of London and had been in Australian waters for some time. It was chartered by Messers J. and A. Brown, colliery proprietors, and traded regularly between Newcastle and other coastal ports under the command of Captain Wills.

Lady Mildred Sinking — 14 February 1909

On its final voyage the Lady Mildred had left Newcastle with a full cargo 3,589 l-ton (3,647 t) of coal bound for Melbourne with a crew of 22 under the command of Captain Wills. The vessel ran ashore in hazy weather on the eastern side of Wilsons Promontory and sunk on 14 February 1909.

By daylight it was seen that the Lady Mildred was lying on its port side, broadside to the high cliffs, wit water almost up to the decks. The steamer was abandoned with he captain and some of the crew making south for the Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse to raise the alarm. The remainder of the crew made for Waterloo Bay to the north to set up shelter.

The steamer Moorabool was summoned by the lighthouse staff as it passed Wilsons Promontory and the shipwrecked crew were all taken aboard.

The vessel could not be salvaged and was abandoned. The master was found guilty of gross misconduct by a Court of Marine Inquiry.

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 Lady Mildred 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.

Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park

This site lies in Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park, Victoria's largest marine sanctuary. There is a huge diversity of marine life within the waters at the Prom. Brilliantly coloured fish are present such as the Red Velvetfish, Eastern Blue Groper and Wrasse as well as Leafy Seadragons and schools of Barber Perch. Intertidal molluscs such as limpets and snails, as well as anemones, brittlestars and seastars, are also common within the waters.

Divers will experience fascinating sponge gardens which consist of a techni-coloured assemblage of sponges, sea tulips, sea whips, lace corals and seafans. Octopus emerge at night whilst sharks and rays roam the sandy areas.

The offshore islands support many colonies of fur seals and oceanic birds such as Little Penguins, Fairy Prions, Silver Gulls and Pacific Gulls.

You are not permitted to carry a spear gun while snorkelling or scuba diving in Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park.

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.

Lady Mildred Location Map

Latitude: 39° 6.000′ S (39.1° S / 39° 6′ S)
Longitude: 146° 26.400′ E (146.44° E / 146° 26′ 24″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2019-03-13 08:43:41 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-27 09:04:38 GMT
Source: Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database (approximate location only)
Nearest Neighbour: Waterloo Point, 1,285 m, bearing 9°, N
Steel Screw Steamer.
Built: 1902.
Sunk: 14 February 1909.
Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park.
Depth: 6 to 25 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.