Lune

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Three-Masted Wooden Barque | Max Depth: 19 m (62 ft)

Lune | Source: Heritage Victoria

The Lune shipwreck lies in 19 metres of water off Cliffy Island in Bass Strait. Cliffy Island is located about 32 kilometres directly south of Port Albert, and roughly 38 kilometres to the north-east of Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse.

The Swedish-owned barque Lune was on a voyage from Newcastle to Batavia via Melbourne loaded with coal. In a thick fog it struck a reef on the eastern side of Cliffy Island, Wilsons Promontory. The crew reached safety, but the vessel soon broke up and sank on 17 February 1885 in the heavy swell.

Diving the Lune Shipwreck

Little remains to be seen of the Lune shipwreck. Her beams and large admiralty anchor are covered in marine growth.

Lune Shipwreck History — Built in 1874

The Lune was a three-masted wooden barque of 500 l-ton (508 t) built in 1874, by Simpson in Glassom Dock, England. She was built on a length of 137 ft (42 m), a breadth of 27 ft (8.23 m) and a draught of 18.3 ft (5.58 m).

Lune Sinking — 17 February 1885

The wooden barque Lune was carrying 750 tons of coal from Newcastle, NSW to Batavia, Dutch East Indies via Melbourne, Victoria. She was sailing with nine crew under the command of Captain J. Malmberg. Off Cape Howe the barque struck West to SW gale force winds and a heavy sea. When the gale subsided the vessel was left in a heavy swell and later a thick fog settled down.

At 1.30 a.m. on 17 February 1885 the barque struck the reef on the eastern side of Cliffy Island. Rudder, stern post and steering gear were lost and two boats were lowered and the crew escaped. The vessel struck heavily on the reef, breaking up and then sinking at daylight. The crew landed at the Cliffy Island Lighthouse station on the island at dawn, although one of the boats was smashed during the landing. The crew were looked after by the people at the lighhouse station station.

Four days later, Captain Lee of the steamer De Bay, observed signals flying at the light house. He went to the island, took the shipwrecked people on board his vessel and brought them to Melbourne.

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.

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.

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.

Lune Location Map

Latitude: 38° 57.000′ S (38.95° S / 38° 57′ S)
Longitude: 146° 42.000′ E (146.7° E / 146° 42′ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-27 09:06:44 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: Rubicon, 13,014 m, bearing 321°, NW
Three-Masted Wooden Barque.
Built: Glassom Dock, England, 1874.
Sunk: 17 February 1885.
Cliffy Island, Wilsons Promontory.
Depth: 19 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.