Edinburgh Castle shipwreck

Edinburgh Castle (1863-1888)

Twenty ships are believed to have sunk in Warrnambool's Lady Bay, but only the wrecks of two, La Bella and Edinburgh Castle, have been discovered.

The final voyage of Edinburgh Castle

In 1887 Edinburgh Castle had passed to new owners, Gifford and Nicholson of Liverpool. The first journey of the ship under the command of its new owners was to deliver a cargo of 4,900 barrels of concrete for construction of the Warrnambool breakwater.

The voyage from England was long and exhausting for the crew. The ship had struck rough weather for most of the journey including a hurricane in the Atlantic. One hundred and one days passed before the south coast of Australia was sighted on the January 13, 1888. Edinburgh Castle was posted as overdue. But when news spread that the ship was approaching Lady Bay, a large crowd gathered to welcome the vessel to Warrnambool.

The relieving Harbour Master, Pilot Carless boarded the ship at the entrance to Lady Bay to bring it to safe anchorage. However the lighthouse keeper could see that the vessel was too close to shore. He signalled, "stand out running to danger", but the ship did not see the signals and continued on the same course.

When Edinburgh Castle was less than two kilometres from its destination and close to the Hopkins River, a squall blew-up. Pilot Carless tried to change the ship's direction, but it continued sailing toward shore. Anchors were dropped, but all attempts to turn around failed. Edinburgh Castle drifted sideways and lodged firmly in the sand. The cement barrels were thrown overboard to lighten the load. A distress call was telegraphed to the coastal steamer, Julia Percy, asking for assistance to pull Edinburgh Castle off the sandbar. The steamer arrived at 6.00am the next morning and spent several hours pulling on full steam but still could not budge the cargo ship.

As all rescue attempts had failed, the captain decided to take his crew off the ship. At the request of the captain, the first mate, seaman and local lighterman stayed on board. The weather was changing for the worse and the locals were worried about the safety of the three men on board. They brought rocket gear to the beach but as they prepared to fire a line across the ship, the men on board dropped a message in a bottle overboard saying they were quite comfortable on the ship.

During the night the weather worsened and this time, the three men sent out distress signals which were picked up by the lighthouse keeper. The rocket crew were alerted and rushed to the beach. Several rockets were fired across to the ship. A breeches buoy was attached to the third line and the men were hauled from the ship to safety.

By morning it was apparent that the ship was doomed. It had been driven in even closer to shore and waves were sweeping right over the ship's deck. That same morning, Edinburgh Castle was offered for auction in Melbourne as a "sound ship with all the fittings and in the best order". The ship fetched £520 and the sale was completed before news reached the auction rooms that the ship was in fact a total wreck.

The Edinburgh Castle disaster was investigated by the Pilot Board and Pilot Carless was found guilty of an error of judgement. Despite the loss of the ship and all its fittings, the pilot was merely cautioned and warned to be more careful in the future.

Ship construction

Edinburgh Castle was built in Glasgow in 1863. It was a three masted barque constructed of iron and was built to carry cargo. Between 1863 and 1885, the ship was owned by Glasgow shippers, Skinner and Co. and sailed the trade routes between Scotland, China and Singapore. The ship measured 176.3ft (53.7m) in length, 29.3ft (8.9m) in width and 18.7ft (5.7m) in depth.

Victoria's historic shipwrecks

Despite Victoria being such a busy shipping region and although Bass Strait and the entrance to Port Phillip Bay presented many hazards to the unwary sailor, only 800 shipwrecks have occurred along the Victorian coast since 1797. Fewer than 200 of these wrecks have actually been found. All Australian shipwrecks over 75 years old are protected by state and Commonwealth historic shipwreck laws. Some younger wrecks may also be especially declared to be historic eg; World War II wrecks.

Edinburgh Castle was protected as a Historic Shipwreck on January 17, 1989, under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976). Any deliberate damage or interference to Edinburgh Castle is an offence under the Act and offenders face tough penalties.

Diving on the wreck of Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is one of the many historic shipwrecks included in Victoria's Underwater Shipwreck Discovery Trail. Qualified divers can explore the wrecks of old wooden clippers, iron steamships and cargo and passenger vessels located along the coast and in Port Phillip Bay. Some of these wreck dives are suitable for beginners while other wrecks require the skills and experience of advanced divers.

Dive information sheet (PDF 328 kb)