HMS Pandora
Details
Year Built: 1778/79
Built: Deptford (London) by Messrs Adams, Barnard & Dudman.
Description of Vessel : HMS Pandora was a 24-gun "Porcupine Class" frigate. The vessel was 513 tons and was designed by Sir John Williams.
Length: 114 feet 3 inches (35 meters)
Breadth: 32 feet 3 inches (9 meters)
Depth: 15 feet (4.5 meters)
Location of Shipwreck: The Pandora wreck is located within Pandora Entrance, approximately 5 km to the north-west of Moulter Cay. This sand cay is on the outer Great Barrier Reef, approximately 140 km east of Cape York, on the edge of the Coral Sea.
History
HMS Pandora is one of Queensland's most famous wrecks; it is also one of Australia’s premier marine archaeological sites.
HMS Pandora is best known as the Royal Navy frigate, which the British Admiralty sent to the South Pacific in pursuit of the Bounty mutineers. After nearly 5 months in the South Pacific the Pandora was on her way home with 14 prisoners locked up in a makeshift prison cell ("Pandora's Box") which had been specially constructed on the quarterdeck after these mutineers were captured in Tahiti. While exploring a passage through the reef, the Pandora struck an isolated reef outcrop on 28th August 1791 and sank the next morning in 33m. 35 people lost their lives, including 4 of the Bounty mutineers
The wreck of HMS Pandora is of international cultural significance. It is the oldest known wreck off Australia's east coast and is being extensively investigated as an archaeological site.
More information
HMS Pandora's history and archaeology - Queensland Museum Features website
HMS Pandora replica, artefacts and exhibitions - Museum of Tropical Queensland Great Gallery and Pandora Gallery
Dive HMS Pandora
The following information is based on personal experience. Always check with authorities about local conditions before diving.
Diving Accessibility Rating: Difficult; strong currents can occur suddenly.
Diving Highlight: The prolific sea life around HMS Pandora's Brodie stove.
Best Diving Season: End of cyclone season and in winter months
Max depth: 34 meters
Diving Video
HMS Pandora - Queensland Museum 1999
Flash Video - 1.62 Mb
Permits
An area with a radius of 500 metres, centred at the intersection of latitude 11°22'40"S and longitude 143°59'35"E is declared a protected zone under Section 7 of the Commonwealth's Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 [external link, opens in new window]. A permit is required to enter this zone.
Download a diving permit application form [new window 113 KB 
]