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Medea

Wreck Dive Wreck Dive | Boat access Boat access

Inside Port Phillip Open Water Rated Wreck Dive Site

Three-Masted Wooden Barque | Max Depth: 2 m (6.56 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

The Medea is the shipwreck of a coal carrier that ran ashore but refused help of Queenscliff lifeboat, even though vessel was filling fast. The Medea was one of a fleet of coal barques, operating mostly between Newcastle, Geelong and Melbourne.

The remains of the Medea today are well scattered and either buried in the sand or disintegrated. The largest features visible on the site is a large section of keel, and two anchors just to the east.

Medea Shipwreck History — Built in 1858

The Medea was a three-masted wooden barque of 423 l-ton (430 t), built in 1858, by Joseph John Tucker, of St John, New Brunswick, Canada, on a length of 132 ft (40 m), a breadth of 28 ft (8.53 m) and a depth of 15.6 ft (4.75 m) The vessel was carvel built with one deck, and a square stern, and was initially registered in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Huddart, Parker & Co. purchased the Medea in 1878, for use in the coal trade between Port Phillip and Newcastle.

Medea Sinking — 11 September 1880

On its final voyage, the Medea had left Geelong on 9 September 1880 bound for Newcastle, with a cargo of flour, produce and sundries, under the command of Captain W Bartlett. Right from the outset the Medea experience poor conditions.

The Medea left Geelong at 2 p.m., on Thursday 9 September 1880, and bought up at West Channel Lightship at 10 p.m.. The northerly was too thick to see Swanspit, so could not proceed. At 2 a.m. on Friday 10 September 1880, a strong wind came in from the south-west. At 4:30 a.m. the Medea got underway and preceded across to the South Channel, beating to windward all day, into a strong south-westerly. At 6:30 p.m., entered the channel, with the wind about south and moderate.

At 8:30 p.m., passed through The Heads, with wind south-east, moderate, carrying topgallant sails. In The Rip, found a very heavy sea, ship plunging bows under. The Medea

got clear of The Heads, and stood out till 11:30 p.m., wind still south-east and increased to a heavy gale, and heavy sea running. Ship heading from south-west to south-west by south, making about three points leeway.

With the conditions worsening and the vessel being forced toward shore, the captain decided to turn back for the safety of Port Phillip. Arriving at The Heads it was found that the flood tide had made, forcing the vessel over towards the western side of the channel towards Point Lonsdale Reef, then went off Queenscliff barely getting past Shortlands Bluff and as it passed Queenscliff Jetty the captain attempted to stay the vessel around on a new tack. This manoeuvre failed and the Medea missed stays and was forced onto the sandbanks that lay between Queenscliff and Swan Point.

Very quickly the south-east gale forced the Medea into the shallows where it began to fill with water. A number of rockets and blue lights were fired for assistance and the Queenscliff lifeboat speedily reached the stranded Medea. However, the master and crew refused to leave the vessel as there was no initial danger as the hull lay firmly on a sandy bottom.

In the morning the government steamer Pharos arrived off Queenscliff and seeing the demise of the Medea, sent a boat to see if they required assistance but it was soon realised that nothing could be done. Messrs. James Deane & Co. were informed the vessel's plight and sent the PS Williams down to the wreck but it touched bottom and could not get close enough to be of any assistance. The owners then sent the steamer Dispatch to render assistance with all the necessary tow ropes and pumps, but on an inspection by Captain Daish, it was found that the Medea had severely strained its hull and there was 8 feet of water in its hold. The company was advised to hand the Medea over to the under writers and all of the crew, except for the mate and one seamen, were taken off and returned with the Dispatch to Melbourne.

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

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.

Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country
Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong 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.

 

Medea Location Map

Latitude: 38° 15.500′ S   (38.258333° S / 38° 15′ 30″ S)
Longitude: 144° 43.250′ E   (144.720833° E / 144° 43′ 15″ E)

Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-27 17:02:03 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: William Salthouse, 1,991 m, bearing 219°, SW
Three-Masted Wooden Barque.
Built: 1858.
Sunk: 10 September 1880.
Depth: 2 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.

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