Dandenong Floating Crane
The Dandenong was found in May 2014 around the entrance to Westernport Bay by members ot the MAAV Des Williams ,Peter Taylor and IANTD InstructorMick Whitmore. The wreck was dived on slack water as the currents are quite treacherous at the entrance to Westernport.Inset on the right you can see a crane of similar construction
This 30 metre barge was lost off McHaffie�s Reef in February 1913 while on the way from Melbourne to Flinders Naval Depot in ballast.
naval authorities Wan ted a dredge for
work at the naval base at Western port,
and they bought the Dandenong for
�1400. All the caulking had fallen out
of the seams, but this did not trouble
the authorities, and one morning
Dandenong was towed- down the bay
and out of the Heads. No sooner had
she dropped into a fair seaway than her
seam* opened out, and she leaked like a
basket, and began to settle down. An
alarmed crew stood , by the towline with
an axe. and they barely had time to
sever it and make their escape over the
stern m a dinghy as the Dandenong
gave a final plunge and sank, just inside
the entrance to Westernport. She went
down in 13 fathoms of water, between
M’Haffie’s Reef and the beach , on
Phillip Island, about half a mile from
‘the shore. This was on February 8th 1913.
.The tug returned to Melbourne, having
placed a buoy over the wreck, and reported the total loss to the Commonwealth, navy.
The authorities determined to recover
the unseaworthy craft. Some 50 men
were detailed for. the work. They pro-
ceeded to the scene in the torpedo
boats Countess of Hopetoun and Chil-
ders. After cruising about Western-
port Harbor for three days, the buoy;
marking the scene of the wreck ‘was
located, and preparations were made for
..beginning tho salvage. Headquarters
were established at Cowes, on Phillip
– Island, and the torpedo boat ”fussed”
between that port and the wreck with
a most businesslike appearance. A few’
fishermen and other nautical folk were
very sarcastic regarding the salvage
operations. They, sneered because the
torpedo boats collided with the diving
boat and smashed away half her gun-
wale,- rammed – the wharf in making
alongside on various occasions, thereby
causing damage both to naval property
and the pier, ran into a buoy which. .
marked a dangerous shallow, and got
stuck on sandbanks while casting .off
to proceed to the wreck.
Two divers acompanied the torpedo
boats. One was the diving instructor
to the navy, and, by reason of his superior
knowledge, he had to descend to
the wreck ‘by himself on almost every
occasion. leaving tho other man on the
surface to descend to his help should
he be in danger. The old dredge lay
in what is regarded as the worst spot
in tho harbor, where the tide runs up
to seven or eight knots, producing.’ in
any sort- of a breeze, a fierce “rip” that
is described as far worse than at Port
Phillip Heads. Necessarily, therefore
the work was one of difficulty and danger. The diver found – himself swept
by the rapid current, and he was only
able to go down for half an hour be-
tween the ebb and flow tides. He succeeded
in getting a wire rope round
part of the wreck, and fastening the
end to a buoy on the surface; but during
the intervals of descent the wreck
stood on end from the rush of the sea.
owing to the rush of the; current, and
the hawser was washed away from the
hull. This experience was several times
repeated. Had two divers gone down
together, it is pointed out, one to the
stem of the wreck, and one to the bow,
they would have been able to connect
the two hawsers, and buoy them together,
so that they would hold the stays.
Then the lines could have been in made
fast to a couple of barges at low tide,
and at high tide they would have been
. raised above the seabed some 15ft, and
the whole concern could have been
towed inshore by a powerful tugboat.
Such representations were made , to
headquarters, but the idea was rejected
. A tug would cost too much, and
another diver was not available.
The authorities, however, saw no other
way out of tho difficulty, and the
gunboat Protector, onher way from
Adelaide to Hobart, was communicated
with. She was ordered ‘to proceed to
Westernport, and lend assistance to the
work of salvage., Tho Protector arrived
in the harbor the following week. On
the following ‘day a hawser was passed
round the.wreck and was made fast to
the.gunboat at low tide. At high tide
the wreck was taken intow, jumping
along the seabed A violent bump and
th’ hawser parted. Having done so
much, the gunboat continued on her’
voyage to Hobart.
On Tuesday last the diver went be-
low again to examine the wreck. When
he reached the surface again he was in-
tensely, amused. He had found that Protector had pulled the ancient
dredge to piece. The three weeks’ salvaging had cost more than the rotten
Old vessel was worth, and ended all
hope of raising her.
However, the sailors had
been having a most enjoyable time and
were loathe to leave the scene. There
was yet hope that the anchors and
cables might be recovered, and so the
two torpedo boats remained in the harbor
, and the diver went down again
every day, except when the weather
was inclement. They torpedo-boats are
still engaged in the”‘salvaging.”
But this break in naval routine has
not been absolutely barren of good re-
sults. AlI the men aboard the torpedo
boat declare that they have put on
weight since it commenced. Holiday-
makers, too, have derived great amusement
from it. They enjoy trips to the
wreck, and take snapshots of the divers
in their picturesque costumes.
The two’ torpedo-boats have been
down at Phillip Island, for nearly a
month,,-and the cost per day of running
these tiny craft, including coal,
provisions’ and salaries, amounts to
in excess �25 each. In addition, the cost
of towing down the two barges was �80,
and four enormous beams of oregon, to
assist salvage operations, cost
�100. Incidental.expenses will run in-
to another �100. Altogether, it is es-
timated the salvage will have cost
the Naval department about �2000.
This added to the cost of the ancient
dredge, in the first instance, brings the
total up to �34oo. Tho critics of our
naval administration down at Western
port experienced., nautical men some
of them declare that the affair is nothing
short of- shameful; They declare
that the dredge would have in all probability
have been safely raised and
beached in four days by the
aid of a powerful tugboat , three divers,
and a couple of men, with a knowledge
of salvage work.
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