Dive Rating : Advanced (Experienced)
Boat Dive
Launch site : Bay of Islands. A 4WD is necessary, as the ramp is narrow and steep. Otherwise, launch at Port Campbell and head west past Peterborough.
Lat : 38 36.500 S
Long : 142 51.500 E
Dive Conditions : A reef, which causes heavy, breaks in all but the calmest conditions, flanks the site. In rough weather waves break over the site and are hazardous to all small craft. The best conditions to dive the wreck occur during periods of low swell and northerly winds.
Description : A magnificent four masted iron barque built in Glasgow to carry cargo.
The Falls of Halladale was one of the last of the "windjammers". It belonged to the celebrated Glasgow Falls Line: a fleet, which was built for carrying cargo and for speed under sail.
The Falls of Halladale had a reputation for running overdue and was frequently reported "missing" at sea. The longest journey and most arduous of the ships journeys was from Liverpool to San Francisco in 1903. The Captain intended to take the vessel around Cape Horn but fierce winds and mountainous seas forced a change of course around the much longer "great circle route". By he time the ship reached New Zealand, the exhausted crew mutinied and forced the ship to anchor in Foveaux Strait for several days. Finally with the mutineers in irons, the Falls of Halladale limped into San Francisco just 273day after it left Liverpool.
When the Falls of Halladale wrecked at Curdies Inlet near Peterborough, a cargo of thousands of slate tiles sank with it. Twenty-two thousand were recovered in a legal salvage between 1974 and 1986. The tiles can be seen today at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village where they have been used as roofing tiles on eight of the restored buildings.
The
remains of the Falls of Halladale lie approximately 300 meters of wreck
point, at Curdies point near Peterborough. The vessel lies on a rocky
bottom in three to 14 meters of water. The bow face towards the north and
the wreckage extends out to sea for approximately 95-100meters.
The Port side of the vessel is upright with five to six meters of hull at the bow and three meters to the stern. The starboard side has flattened out and the masts are scattered towards the east. As a diver swims towards the stern, the site appears as a complex lattice of iron beams and hull plates which were the floors, frames and bilge plating. The scattered beams and plates provide a perfect home for many reef fish.
Some slate and coiled wire cargo stowed at the stern of the vessel 90 years ago, still remain in their original area of stowage. Other features of the site include large iron anchors, bollards, deck supports and iron knees.
The Falls of Halladale was a
magnificent four masted iron barque. It was built in Scotland in 1886 and
incorporated the most up to date technical innovations of its time. In the
fury of a hurricane, the ship could carry full sail safely without
straining its masts. In its 23 years of operation, the Falls of Halladale
sailed the world trade routes through the "roaring forties" and
"howling fifties" and was capable of making 300 nautical miles in
24 hours.
The vessel measured 275.3ft(83.8m) in length, 41.6ft(12.6m) in breadth, 23.9ft(7.2m) in depth and had a gross tonnage of 2085 tons.
On the 4th August 1908, the falls of Halladale left New York bound for Melbourne. Captain Thompson, who was in command of the ship, was pleased with the general cargo he had secured for the journey. Valued at £35,000, it included 500 sewing machines, plumbing iron, 6,500 gallons of oil, 14,400 gallons of benzine, glassware and 56,763 beautiful slate tiles.
The Falls of Halladale was making good time as it neared the southern Victorian coastline in the early hours of Saturday 13th November. The sea was calm and the weather fine. A mist hung over the sea creating an illusionary horizon. This confused the Captain who calculated the ship’s position as 15 Kilometres from the coast.
As the fog lifted, the crew and Captain of the Falls of Halladale found themselves with full sails set and billowing and only a few hundred meters from the shore-heading strait for the rocks. The call "land close to the lee bow" was screamed but it was too late. Within two minutes the ship struck a submerged reef. An eyewitness said, "the ship seemed to leap from the water. In falling it seemed to jam hard and fast on the rocks".
As he waves broke over the deck, the ship began to fill with water. The order "save your lives" was given and two lifeboats were hoisted clear of the ship. The lifeboats could not land directly on shore at the wreck site but instead were rowed four and a half miles to a sandy beach in the Bay of Islands.
The postmistress at Peterborough witnessed the stranding of the Falls of Halladale. She had been issued with a telescope by the government for sighting vessels in distress and was able to raise the alarm among the townsfolk. A small group set out for the Bay of Islands to help the stranded sailors. The rocket crew arrived from Port Campbell but was not needed as the crew and Captain had all made it safely to shore.
The Falls of Halladale sat wedged firmly between two reefs for weeks and drew a large crowd of onlookers. One newspaper reported," she is resting on an almost even keel with all her masts and rigging sanding and with her canvas swelling out in alight breeze. She presents a most impressive sight".
After two months the ship was wrecked. Rough seas had pounded the vessel and the Salvage Company had blasted the ship. Much of the valuable cargo was washed ashore including a large quantity of oil causing one of Victoria’s earliest oil spills.
The Court of marine Inquiry of gross misconduct found Captain Thompson guilty and had his Certificate suspended for six months.