Technical divers have confirmed the identity of the 19th-century steamship City of Hobart, which sank in 1875 off the coast of Victoria, Australia. The wreck was located using seabed survey data from an offshore wind project.
Historical photo of City of Hobart
The wreck of the iron steamship City of Hobart has been identified off the Gippsland coast in Victoria, Australia, resolving a maritime mystery that endured for more than a century. Technical divers from Southern Ocean Exploration (SOE) confirmed the wreck’s identity after revisiting a site detected during offshore wind-farm seabed surveys.
The discovery followed years of intermittent search efforts by researchers and divers seeking to locate the long-lost vessel.
Search efforts
SOE first identified the City of Hobart as a potential search target in 2008 following research by maritime historian Peter Taylor. Several on-water search expeditions were carried out over the following years, but none located the wreck, and the project was eventually paused while the team pursued other targets.
In February 2026, however, SOE received new information from survey company Iberdrola Australia. The data came from geophysical seabed surveys conducted for a proposed offshore wind project.
Using these coordinates, SOE dispatched a team of technical divers on 6 February 2026. The information proved highly accurate, allowing the divers to locate and investigate the wreck site.
The vessel
The City of Hobart was a 645-ton iron screw steamer measuring 182ft by 24ft, with a depth of 18ft. Built in Glasgow in 1853 by Wingate & Company for the Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company, the vessel was designed specifically for trade between Tasmania and mainland Australia.
Initially barque-rigged with three masts and auxiliary sails, the vessel combined steam propulsion with traditional sailing capability. Contemporary reports described it as “a fine-looking vessel with a clipper stem and three masts”.
For several years, the vessel operated between Victoria and Tasmania and also conducted excursions around the Tasmanian coast.
Service history
The City of Hobart had a varied and sometimes dramatic career. In 1860, it was chartered to transport 220 troops to New Plymouth in New Zealand during the Māori Wars.
Later, the ship operated a mail service linking Melbourne with Dunedin and Otago. In 1862, it was involved in a well-publicised race across the Tasman Sea with the steamer Aldinga, overtaking its rival near Clarke Island before reaching Melbourne.
The vessel also took part in rescue and salvage operations, including assistance in the recovery of the schooner Beacon in 1857 and the rescue of the crew from the wrecked brig Carrymore in 1860.
Final voyage
In March 1875, the vessel was sold to Captain William Summerbell of Sydney and entered the coal trade. On 21 July 1875, it departed Newcastle for Melbourne carrying 615 tons of coal.
After encountering strong southerly winds, the ship sheltered briefly in Port Jackson before continuing south. On 25 July, roughly 60 miles off Wilson’s Promontory, the propeller shaft broke, allowing water to flood the holds.
Captain J. Lowrie ordered the crew to abandon ship. They escaped in lifeboats with basic supplies and were later rescued by the steamer Barrabool.
About 15 minutes after being abandoned, the City of Hobart sank stern-first, ending the career of a vessel once regarded as one of the finest steamers of its era.
