Meet the site
Federal was a steel screw steamer of 1,516 tons built by William Doxford and Sons at Sunderland in 1890, 88 m (290 ft) long with a 40 ft beam, a typical British tramp of the period employed on the Australian coast in the coal trade. On 21 March 1901 she was carrying coal from Newcastle bound for Albany, Western Australia, when she met a severe south-west gale in eastern Bass Strait. She was never seen again; wreckage and bodies came ashore along the East Gippsland coast in the following weeks. All aboard – variously recorded as 29 crew or 31 souls in total – were lost, making her one of the worst Victorian maritime disasters of the Federation year, and for more than a century the wreck's position was unknown. In 2012 recreational divers reported an unidentified sonar target far offshore, and in April 2019 the CSIRO research vessel Investigator, working the East Gippsland shelf with multibeam sonar, produced a 3D map of a wreck 34 km south of Cape Conran and 60 km south-west of Point Hicks in 115 m. It matched the Federal. The imagery shows a ship lying on top of a six-metre-deep scour, broken up, with the stern smashed and the starboard hull plating beginning to fall into the scour. Heritage Victoria declared an 800 m radius protected zone; a permit is required to enter it and anchoring is prohibited. At 115 m in open Bass Strait, a three-hour passage from the nearest bar harbour, the Federal is beyond anything currently dived in Victoria and no dive on her has been reported. Anyone planning an expedition would be pioneering; the realistic way to see the Federal is the CSIRO's sonar model.
Research this site before booking Stored site notes may be historical. These questions highlight gaps without turning old instructions into a current dive plan.
SS Federal is recorded as Wreck in Wilsons Promontory. The listed access is boat (multi-day/liveaboard). 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.
- Current and timing
- Ask how the operator assesses the current window for the actual route. Historical tide notes are not a departure instruction.
- Planned depth
- Confirm the intended route and training requirements; the recorded maximum is not a target.
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 SS Federal suitable for my certification?
The record lists Technical (decompression). 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 SS Federal 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
Unknown – deep shelf community expected (sponges, ling, deep-water crustaceans)
Location
In deep water about 34 km south of Cape Conran and 60 km south-west of Point Hicks off the East Gippsland coast, in 115 m; a declared historic shipwreck protected zone of 800 m radius.
Facilities nearby
Marlo boat ramp (bar crossing) or Lakes Entrance harbour; nothing offshore
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.auRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.