Meet the site
Clarence is the best-preserved early Australian-built schooner yet found in Australian waters, and for that reason one of the few Victorian wrecks protected by a permit-only zone. She was a two-masted wooden coastal trading schooner of about 50 tons, 15.5 m (51 ft) long, built in 1841 on the Williams River in the Hunter district of New South Wales, at a time when colonial shipwrights were adapting British designs to local timbers. She traded livestock and cargo between the colonies – her hold was fitted for carrying sheep and cattle – and on 2 September 1850, inbound with cargo, she went aground off St Leonards in Port Phillip and was abandoned. She settled into the sand in 5 m and the sand preserved her. The outline of the hull is clear on the seabed and, on a good day, from the surface: the port side is almost complete from bow to stern, with paired hull frames standing out of the sand, while the starboard stern is buried. Sections of Baltic pine decking from her livestock-carrying days can still be seen. Archaeologists from Heritage Victoria, the Maritime Archaeology Association of Victoria and Flinders University have excavated and recorded the site as a case study in colonial shipbuilding and in the in-situ preservation of wooden wrecks, reburying exposed timbers after each season. Because the timbers are exposed and fragile, the Clarence sits inside a 100 m radius protected zone: a Heritage Victoria permit is required to dive and anchoring is prohibited, with severe penalties. There is nothing here for a casual diver – a hull outline and frames in 5 m of often murky bay water – and the interest is entirely archaeological. It suits maritime-archaeology volunteers and students on permitted fieldwork, and it belongs in this directory so that boaters and divers off St Leonards know to keep clear. The nearby Joanna, another protected schooner wreck 1 km to the south-east, is in the same category.
What you might see
Sand and seagrass community – flathead, leatherjackets, stingarees, sea stars, small wrasse
Location
On the sand about 1 km off St Leonards on the Bellarine Peninsula inside Port Phillip, in 5 m, within a 100 m historic shipwreck protected zone.
Facilities nearby
St Leonards boat ramp (parking, toilets); shops in St Leonards
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
scubadoctor.com.auscubadoctor.com.auRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.