Miranda

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Two-Masted, Wooden Brigantine | Max Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft)

The wooden brigantine Miranda was a regular Bass Strait trader from Hobart and Launceston to Port Albert. It carried general cargo and building material to Port Albert and livestock to Tasmania. The Miranda shipwreck now lies in Miranda Bay, on the western side of Wilsons Promontory, in the Wilsons Promontory Marine Park.

The Miranda is significant as an example of an Australian built cargo ship working in the Bass Strait trade.

Miranda Shipwreck History — Built in 1846

The Miranda was a two-masted wooden brigatine of 127 l-ton (129 t), built in 1846, by John Watson, in Hobart Town. The vessel was built on a length of 76.1 ft (23 m), a breadth of 20.6 ft (6.28 m), and a depth of 11.3 ft (3.44 m).

At the time of its wrecking the Miranda was owned by G.V. Bentley and Isaac Reeve and registered in Hobart Town.

Miranda Sinking — 7 August 1852

On its final voyage the Miranda left Hobart Town bound for Port Albert under the command of Captain G.V. Bentley. During the crossing of Bass Strait, the weather deteriorated and freshened from the east, forcing the vessel to shelter under Rabbit Island, between the island and the western side of Wilsons Promontory.

Due to the stress of the weather, the Miranda's anchor cables parted, and on 7 August 1852, the vessel was forced ashore on the beach opposite Rabbit Island. Because of the gently sloping nature of the beach where the Miranda struck, it's likely the vessel would not have gone to pieces immediately, thus allowing everything movable to be stripped from the hull. No lives were lost, but the vessel was subsequently condemned, and burnt on the beach where it lay.

Now, over 150 years later, the frames of the unfortunate vessel are often exposed after the shifting of the sand.

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.

Traditional Owners — This dive site does not lie in the acknowledged traditional Country of any first peoples of Australia.

Miranda Location Map

Latitude: 38° 54.800′ S (38.913333° S / 38° 54′ 48″ S)
Longitude: 146° 28.800′ E (146.48° E / 146° 28′ 48″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-27 17:07:08 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: Elm Grove, 825 m, bearing 240°, WSW
Two-Masted, Wooden Brigantine.
Built: 1846.
Sunk: 7 August 1852.
Wilsons Promontory Marine Park.
Depth: 1 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.