Dive standard :Basic – intermediate
Launch site : St Leonard’s boat ramp. Head down Cole’s channel to no.5 beacon. Head southeast across west sand to the six-meter hole west of no. 12 pile. Beware of shallow water on top of west sandbank
Chart no : AUS 158
Latitude : 38" 12’35" south
Longitude : 144"43’34" east
Compass Bearings:
A yellow marker pile was placed on site in 1991. This is a 100-meter radius protected zone, Access is by permit only. Anchoring is prohibited.
Dive Conditions: The site of the Joanna is very exposed to weather from the north and south. It should be dived only in slack water.
Description :A small Victorian Built Sailing ship used to transport lime within Port Phillip Bay.
The Joanna was part of the
mosquito fleet, a small fleet of cutters and schooners that sailed the
waters of Port Phillip Bay between the 1840’s and the early 1900’s. The
mosquito fleet carried goods between several small bay ports. Its main
cargo was lime, shell and timber.
The lime trade involved the digging of shell from natural shell beds and aboriginal middens in western port bay and the southern part of Port Phillip Bay. It was then transported by boat to Geelong and Melbourne. The lime was burned in kilns and was then used as mortar in stone and brick buildings.
With increased demand from the growing building trade, the local lime was used to supplement the limited supplies of Portland lime. Initially, kilns were established at Portsea and Sorrento. Gradually the trade moved up the bay to rye and Mount Maratha and then across to Geelong and Lara and then to Lilydale.
The mosquito fleet also referred to as tea-tree bark. Tannin was extracted from the bark and used in the leather industry. Tea-tree wood was also a preferred source of fuel for bakers oven’s, as the ash did not stick to bread.
The Joanna is a very significant
shipwreck. To date, it is the best preserved and the earliest known example
of a Victorian built sailing ship located in Australian Waters. It offers
archaeologists an opportunity to learn about Australian shipbuilding and
local trade in the mid – 19th century.
The Joanna is situated one and a half kilometres from shore on the western bank of the west channel, between Swan Island and St. Leonard’s.
The wreck lies on sand in two to seven meters of water and stands between one and three meters above the sea bed. The Joanna’s cargo of bagged lime, which has now turned to concrete, can still be seen. Divers visiting the wreck often find stingrays living between the lime bags.
The weight of the cargo has pinned down the hull and preserved it under the sand along with ship fittings and crew’s possessions. Artefacts found at the site by the Maritime Archaeology Unit include a child’s writing slate still inscribed with the date 1855 and the child’s name Annie Morgan.
On the south side of the wreck site, remains of the ships rigging, the anchor chain and rope can be seen: The Maritime Archaeology Unit has placed a plinth on the site.
The Joanna was a small 34-ton, two masted wooden schooner built in 1856 at Mount Eliza, Port Philip Bay. It was the pride and joy of its owner and captain, John Locke, a general merchant and Melbourne ship owner.
The ship had a single deck, square stern and carved hull. It measured 45ft (13.6m) long, 14ft (4.2m) in width and its hold was just over 6ft (1.8m) deep.
On the 9th July 1857, the Joanna was loaded with lime and tea tree from point Nepean and anchored waiting for a favourable wind to sail to the lime Wharf in Melbourne. A severe storm suddenly swept across Port Phillip Bay. The Joanna’s anchors dragged and the ship was driven across the bay and onto the western bank of the Western Channel. The storm continued and the Joanna filled with water and sank. After the storm passed, only the vessel’s masts were above the water. Neither the boat nor cargo could be salvaged.