Napier

Wreck Dive | Shore access

Wooden Steamer | Max Depth: 8 m (26 ft)

Napier Sketch
Source: Jack Loney Collection

The steamship Napier was engaged to salvage the wreck of the Loch Ard, but came to grief while entering Port Campbell Bay on Victoria's Shipwreck Coast.

See WillyWeather (Port Campbell Bay) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Shipwreck Coast - Napier Wreck

Napier History

The Napier was built in 1874 by Abraham Graham at Goolwa, South Australia, with iron frames, wooden planks, carvel built and schonner rigged on two masts. A 25 nhp steeple engine drove twin propellers. The vessel measured 120.6 ft (37 m) in length, with a 17 ft (5.18 m) beam, 8.6 ft (2.62 m) in depth, of 132 gross tons.

The Napier spent much of its early years in South Australian waters.

Napier Sinking

The Napier was being contracted to undertake salvage on the wreck of the Loch Ard. While returning to Port Campbell from the Loch Ard the Napier lost sternway while rounding the eastern reef and bluff of Port Campbell Bay. Swell forced it onto rocks on the western side of the cove where the Napier sunk on 16 September 1878.

The remains of the Napier could be seen for many years lying under the cliffs opposite the Port Campbell Jetty.

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.

Eastern Maar country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Eastern Maar people of south-western Victoria between the Shaw and Eumerella Rivers and from Yambuk in the south to beyond Lake Linlithgow in the north. This truly ancient Country extends as far north as Ararat and encompasses the coastal townships of Port Fairy in the west, Warrnambool, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Lorne, and Airies Inlet in the east, including the Great Ocean Road area. It also stretches 100 metres out to sea from low tide and therefore includes the iconic Twelve Apostles. "Eastern Maar" is a name adopted by the people who identify as Maar, Eastern Gunditjmara, Tjap Wurrung, Peek Whurrong, Kirrae Whurrung, Kuurn Kopan Noot and/or Yarro waetch (Tooram Tribe) amongst others. We wish to acknowledge the Eastern Maar as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

Napier Location Map

Latitude: 38° 37.248′ S (38.620803° S / 38° 37′ 14.89″ S)
Longitude: 142° 59.376′ E (142.989599° E / 142° 59′ 22.56″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2021-05-28 19:39:55 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-23 20:15:35 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Port Campbell Jetty, 177 m, bearing 98°, E
Built: Goolwa, South Australia, 1874.
Sunk: 16 September 1878.
Port Campbell Bay, Shipwreck Coast.
Depth: 8 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.