General Picton (Fosters Island)

Meet the site

The General Picton was a four-masted iron sailing ship of 1660 gross tons, built in 1883 at Port Glasgow and measuring 258 x 38 x 23 ft. She was wrecked on 23 July 1888 at Fosters Island. The Marine Life Network guide rates the wreck 8 out of 10: steel plates create swim-throughs, the wreck lies scenically against a dangerous reef in 5-25 m, and crayfish were historically abundant along with small marine life in the crevices.

The guide notes that it is a historic wreck from which nothing may be removed, that it is a slack-water dive best done on a rising tide, and that a high point about 100 m away is visible for orientation. Treat the depths, positions and conditions given here as a starting point, and confirm them with local divers and a depth sounder before committing to a dive.

The far north-east corner of Tasmania, from Eddystone Point to Cape Portland and Swan Island, is one of the most remote stretches of the state's coast. Roads north of St Helens and around Gladstone are partly gravel, the nearest shops are at Gladstone, Derby or Bridport, and there are no dive services at all. The Marine Life Network guide, written from the experience of Launceston divers, is still the only detailed published account of most of these sites.

Where Bass Strait meets the Tasman Sea around Cape Portland and the Swan Island group, tidal streams run hard, and the guide repeatedly stresses slack water, safety lines and experienced boat handlers for the wreck sites. The Royal Hobart Hospital chamber is five hours or more away by road, so any diving here should be conservative and planned with an evacuation route in mind.

What you might see

Crayfish, small crevice life, encrusting invertebrates, wrasse, leatherjackets

Location

Wreck of the four-masted iron ship General Picton (1888) against a dangerous reef at Fosters Island near Cape Portland, with steel plates forming swim-throughs.

Facilities nearby

None nearby.