Dive standard : Basic
Launch site : Queenscliff
Chart no : AUS 158
Looking south-southwest, 3 channel markers line up between transit lines
2.Looking south, the green marker lines up with the third building
3.Looking south – southwest - The end of the swan island submarine lines up with the top of Cheviot hill.
Dive Conditions: The mountain Maid is best dived at flood slack. It should be avoided in northerly winds when the waves can become large and a hazard to divers and boating.
Description : A small two masted wooden snow brig used for transporting cargo between the Orient, Europe and Australia
When the Mountain Maid was launched in Dundee in March 1841, the local newspaper reported that, "the event ran smoothly, the mould of the vessel was beautiful, and that the figurehead was exceptionally neat".
Unfortunately no illustrations of the ship have ever been found. However by careful examination of the wreck site near Swan Island and with the help of descriptions from archives such as Lloyd’s Register of shipping, maritime archaeologists now have a good impression of what the Mountain Maid looked like.
The Mountain Maid was a cargo vessel and for twelve years the ship sailed between Europe and North America and Europe and the Orient. At one point it was thought to be involved in the smuggling trade.
In 1856 it was sold to its third owner who recognised the potential of trading with the young but wealthy colony of Victoria. The Mountain Maid sailed to Australia and made voyages to Calcutta and Manilla. It was on a return voyage from Manilla in 1856 that Mountain Maid was wrecked in a collision with the Victorian steamer the SS Queen.
The Mountain Maid was severely damaged and sank following a
collision with the SS Queen. Maritime Archaeologists believe that after
sinking, the ship came to rest upright on the sea floor and then collapsed
outwards. The port side of the hull lies flat in five meters of water on a
limestone rock platform. It is covered by sand and shell debris. The
starboard side of the hull is completely absent.
There is an enormous amount of wreckage to see at this site although it is spread over a huge area of approximately 600 square meters. Divers can see intact areas of flooring, ceiling, garboard stakes (the lowest timber planking on the hull near the keel) and the keelson (an internal beam providing structural support). Iron knees, which support the decking, are also visible around the wreck site.
When the Maritime Archaeological Association of Victoria (M.A.A.V.) rediscovered the Mountain Maid in 1981, divers found the original bamboo dunnage lying between the ribs of the ship. The bamboo would have been used to secure and waterproof dry cargo and protect the hull from damage. The presence of the bamboo dunnage helped to identify the wreck as the Mountain Maid, as bamboo was only used to pack cargo in Asian ports.
Other discoveries at the wreck site include pieces of patterned ceramic, metal artefacts, a ships barometer scale, glass bottles and scrimshaw on a piece of pearly nautilus shell.
The Maritime Archaeology Unit has placed an information plinth at the wreck site. It lies about 20 meters from the wreck.
The
Mountain Maid was a strongly built wooden snow brig. It had two square
rigged masts and a smaller sail – a spanker, behind the main mast.
The Mountain Maid was not a huge vessel. It measured only 84ft(25.59m) in length, 20.5ft(6.25m) in breadth and had a hold 15ft(4.57m) deep. Lloyd’s register of shipping describes the ship as a well-built vessel of oak and elm. Surveyors from Lloyd have said the timbers were well fastened with iron staples and the rigging was of the best quality.
The Mountain Maid was bound for Melbourne from Manilla on 14th September 1856 carrying a cargo of rice, sugar and rope. The weather was fine and clear and a fresh southerly wind was blowing as the ship passed through the heads. With the help of a flood tide, the Mountain Maid was heading towards the west channel at a rate of seven knots. At the same time, the Victorian West Coast iron screw steamer, SS Queen, was making its way out through the heads at full speed against a head wind and opposing tide.
On there set courses. Both vessels had ample room to pass. However, Pilot Patterson on board the Mountain Maid altered course to hug the west bank of the channel to avoid a shift in the wind as he was steering the ship past swan island. The SS Queen whose captain had also ordered his vessel to run towards Swan Island in an effort to make the two vessels pass on their port sides did not expect this move. The two vessels collided and the SS Queen sliced through the Mountain Maids starboard bow.
The Mountain Maid filled with water and sank immediately. The crews had to swim for their lives but were picked up by the SS Queen. As the vessel broke up, the cargo was washed away.
The Pilot Board found Pilot Patterson to blame, for the collision. In his career with the Pilot Service he had already run two other ships aground on the approach to Corio Bay. As a result of his bad record and the collision between Mountain Maid and SS Queen, he was dismissed from the Pilot Service.
An attempt was made to drag the Mountain Maid out of the channel and into the shallow waters of swan bay to salvage what remained of the wreck. This was unsuccessful and the ship was left where it now lies, just 200 meters north-northeast of Coles Channel Pile Light.