Meet the site
The John Scott was a two-masted wooden snow – a brig-rigged vessel with a small trysail mast – of 157 tons, built at Hylton near Sunderland in 1848 and measuring 78.7 feet by 20.5 feet. Under Captain Corbett she left Adelaide for Melbourne on 27 January 1858 with a cargo of flour and wheat, a handful of passengers and a crew of eight. In heavy weather and fog before dawn on Sunday 14 February 1858 she ran ashore at Bold Projection below Flaxmans Hill, between what are now Childers Cove and the Bay of Islands. Everyone aboard got ashore safely and was sheltered at McCreddin's station nearby, and the cargo was partly salvaged before the ship broke up. The wreck is one of the earlier losses on this stretch, twenty years before the Loch Ard, and it appears on the Historic Shipwreck Trail as one of the chain of sites between Warrnambool and Peterborough.
As a dive it barely exists. A small softwood vessel lost in the wash zone in 1858 leaves almost nothing, and what survives at Bold Projection is a scatter of iron fastenings, ballast and concreted fragments in the gutters of the shore platform in 2–3 m, visible to a snorkeller at low tide on a flat day. The platform reef itself carries kelp, abalone and the small fish of the intertidal zone. The site is included because it is documented by the Scuba Doctor with a verified position and because it completes the sequence of Shipwreck Coast wrecks between the Antares and the Children; it should be thought of as a heritage walk with a mask rather than a dive, in a remote and beautiful spot at the end of a farm road where you are unlikely to see anyone else.
Research this site before booking Stored site notes may be historical. These questions highlight gaps without turning old instructions into a current dive plan.
John Scott is recorded as Wreck in Shipwreck Coast & Warrnambool. The listed access is shore. Confirm the actual meeting point, route and permission to visit; a map pin does not establish any of these.
Topics flagged by the stored research
These are questions prompted by the existing notes, not a verified or complete hazard assessment.
- Water movement
- Ask how swell and local exposure affect the proposed entry, exit and route.
Historical access notes exist for this record, but have not been independently verified for current use. Request current directions from the operator or site manager rather than following an old entry description.
Questions, answered
Is John Scott suitable for my certification?
The record lists Open Water. That does not establish suitability for every route or day. Share your training, recent experience and equipment needs with the operator and ask about the specific proposed dive.
Can I book John Scott through YouDive?
YouDive is an independent research directory. Contact an operator directly to confirm whether it currently runs the trip, the inclusions and the booking terms.
What you might see
Kelp, black-lip abalone, limpets and periwinkles, small wrasse and sweep in the gutters
Location
Scant remains of an 1858 wooden snow at Bold Projection below Flaxmans Hill, at the end of Mathiesons Road, Nirranda, in 2–3 m.
Facilities nearby
None – informal parking at the end of Mathiesons Road; nearest facilities Peterborough or Warrnambool.
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.