Port Phillip Bay, Victoria
In the 18th and 19th Centuries, an enormous number of ships sailed in Victorian waters. For instance, during the gold rush, 50 ships were often reported sailing past Cape Ottway Lighthouse in one day. In 1852, 150 ships were reported anchored in Hobson’s Bay at any one time.
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 ship wrecks have occurred along the Victorian coast since 1797. Fewer than 200 of these wrecks have actually been found. At the time of writing, 32 of these shipwrecks had been considered so well preserved and such an important part of our cultural heritage that they had been declared Historic Shipwrecks under state and Commonwealth law.