shipwrecks ahoy!
The Borough has a fascinating history of shipwrecks. Port Phillip Heads is one of the most dangerous passages of water in the world. Whilst the distance between Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean is about 3km, reefs project from either side leaving only 1km of navigable channel for boats to pass through. The presence of the 7 metre Corsair Rock submerged only 2 metres under water and the strong tidal flows adds to the treacherous nature of these waters.
Please click on the youtube links below to hear more about four of the key shipwrecks that have occurred in our waters.
Should you wish to explore our exciting maritime history further, please visit the Queenscliffe Maritime History Museum, 2 Wharf Street or log onto www.maritimequeenscliffe.org.au.
Please click on the youtube links below to hear more about four of the key shipwrecks that have occurred in our waters.
Should you wish to explore our exciting maritime history further, please visit the Queenscliffe Maritime History Museum, 2 Wharf Street or log onto www.maritimequeenscliffe.org.au.
Further Reading:
Jack Loney has also written an excellent book about the Queenscliffe Lifeboat titled Wreck and Rescue at Port Phillip Heads (1989), Queenscliffe Lifeboat Preservation Society which is available for purchase at the Queenscliffe Maritime History Museum.
Barry Hill's book The Enduring Rip: A History of Queenscliffe published by Melbourne University Press provides an in-depth examination of European settlement in Queenscliffe . In a 2005 review, The Age's Morag Fraser, writes "The imperatives of the sea dominate the book's rich historical narrative and universalise its tenor. In the fine chapter titled "The Sublime", Hill pinpoints the thrill of the place, its tantalising proximity to danger: "This was the thing - always the thing - about Queenscliff. It was near the Heads, near the Rip, upon which you could not look without foreboding."
Jack Loney has also written an excellent book about the Queenscliffe Lifeboat titled Wreck and Rescue at Port Phillip Heads (1989), Queenscliffe Lifeboat Preservation Society which is available for purchase at the Queenscliffe Maritime History Museum.
Barry Hill's book The Enduring Rip: A History of Queenscliffe published by Melbourne University Press provides an in-depth examination of European settlement in Queenscliffe . In a 2005 review, The Age's Morag Fraser, writes "The imperatives of the sea dominate the book's rich historical narrative and universalise its tenor. In the fine chapter titled "The Sublime", Hill pinpoints the thrill of the place, its tantalising proximity to danger: "This was the thing - always the thing - about Queenscliff. It was near the Heads, near the Rip, upon which you could not look without foreboding."