Scottish Prince

Details

Year Built: 1878
Built: Aberdeen, Scotland
Description: The Scottish Prince was an 894 ton 3-masted iron barque (a 19th century barque was a ship with at least 3 masts, all square rigged except for aftermost which was fore-and-aft rigged).
Length: 200 feet (61 meters)
Breadth: 32 feet (9.6 meters)
Depth: 18 feet (5.5 meters)
Location of Shipwreck: Off Southport, Gold Coast

History

On the night of 2 February 1887, under the command of William Little, the Scottish Prince was heading northwards along the east coast on the final stages of a voyage from Glasgow to Moreton Bay. At 8:00 pm whilst abeam of Burleigh Heads she tacked to seaward until 10 pm when she again tacked to the northwest. At 11:40 pm the Master left the deck, leaving in charge the Second Mate, who had never sailed in these waters. Shortly after midnight of 3rd February the vessel ran aground at the south end of Stradbroke Island. Despite the efforts of 3 tugs, she remained stranded and a decision was made to land the passengers. Within a few days as south easterly weather conditions strengthened, water entered the holds and she was abandoned. Over the following days & weeks the decks opened up allowing cargo to be washed ashore. Thomas Welsby (a witness to the aftermath) describes how

"On the morning of the 14 February the foremast only was standing, with the stump of the mizzen barely visible. Stradbroke Island was strewn with sewing machines, cases of beer and whisky, cornflour, mousetraps, sweets, and enough blankets to have clothed all the sufferers [flood victims] in the Logan district…" (Welsby: Early Moreton Bay 1907)

By the time Customs officials arrived from Brisbane, looters had either salvaged or buried in the dunes most of the cargo. Buried stashes of whisky were still reportedly being uncovered by locals in the 1950s!

A Marine Board Court of Enquiry was held, and the findings of the Board that "Gross carelessness and most slovenly navigation caused the loss of the vessel". Captain Little had his Master's Certificate cancelled and the mate was suspended for six months.

With the advent of recreational SCUBA diving, the wreck of the Scottish Prince was re-discovered in 1955 along with the wreck of the Cambus Wallace (1894), another Scottish built iron barque. Due to the vast amounts of whisky bottles (many intact, with contents) that were subsequently recovered from both wrecks, together with the stories of drinking parties enjoyed by locals in 1887, the Scottish Prince (and the Cambus Wallace) have become known as 'the whisky wrecks'.

Dive the Scottish Prince

The following information is based on personal experience. Always check with authorities about local conditions before diving.

Diving Accessibility Rating: Strong surge
Diving Highlight: Shifting sands determine how much and what sections of the wreck are visible.
Best Diving Season: Winter months
Max depth: 10 meters
Getting There: The wreck of the Scottish Prince lies 500 m off shore at a depth of 10m, approximately 2 km south of the extremity of the Southport Spit. The iron hull is pointing bow inshore and is broken into 3 sections. Bow and stern are both reasonably intact; however the side plates and decks have collapsed.
Permits: Not required

    Download a sketch of the dive site. - PDF 380 KB

Diving Video

Scottish Prince - Ian Banks 2006
Flash Video - 7.29 Mb

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