The Loch Ard is Victoria's most famous shipwreck. A three-masted iron clipper of 1,693 tons, built by Barclay Curle in Glasgow in 1873 for the Loch Line, she left Gravesend for Melbourne on 2 March 1878 with 54 passengers and crew under Captain George Gibb. In fog before dawn on 1 June, on what should have been the last day of the voyage, she found herself under the cliffs east of Port Campbell; she struck Mutton Bird Island and sank within fifteen minutes. Only two survived – the apprentice Tom Pearce, who was washed into the gorge that now bears the ship's name, and the passenger Eva Carmichael, whom he swam out to rescue. Fifty-two died and few bodies were recovered; four are buried in the cemetery above the gorge. Cargo washed ashore for weeks, including the famous Minton porcelain peacock now in Flagstaff Hill museum, and the wreck was heavily salvaged in the 1970s before protection.

The wreck lies against the western and southern base of Mutton Bird Island in 10–25 m, and it is a large, scattered site. The bow section is the most coherent piece, relatively intact with the bowsprit jammed under a rock, and a long line of hull plating with deadeyes still attached runs from it along the base of the cliff. Where the hull leans against the island it has formed a cave that divers can look into. Railway irons from the cargo lie concreted to hull sections, and the sand and gullies hold rolls of lead and zinc sheet, ceramics, pewter mugs, ink wells, lead shot and bottle fragments. The stern has never been found and is assumed to have broken up. One anchor was raised for the 1978 centenary and stands at the Port Campbell visitor centre. Marine life on the site is rich – the island's cliffs carry sponges and kelp, crayfish shelter in the plating and schools of sweep and salmon work the water column – but the artefacts and the setting are the point. It is a demanding, rarely possible dive for experienced divers who can handle surge and a hostile boat pick-up, and a genuinely important one: an archaeologically and recreationally significant site inside the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park where nothing may be touched.

Boat only, and only from Port Campbell. Small boats are launched by the crane on Port Campbell jetty, which is restricted to licensed permit holders (contact Parks Victoria, 13 1963), or by local charter operators who hold a permit. From the jetty it is about 5 km east along the cliffs, 15–20 minutes in a fast boat, taking care to avoid the wave break east of the inlet entrance.

The wreck lies against the seaward and western side of Mutton Bird Island; the boat stands off in the backwash while divers drop. Do not attempt to reach the site from Loch Ard Gorge by swimming – it is far too dangerous. Warrnambool (60 km) is the nearest dive shop.

The Scuba Doctor is explicit: diving on the Loch Ard requires calm conditions and a very low swell, and March to May give the best odds. Mutton Bird Island stands in the open Southern Ocean and the backwash off its cliffs can be severe even on calm days, so the working limit is a swell under about 1 m from the south-west with light northerly winds; anything more and the site is a cauldron. Weather on the Great South West Coast changes quickly and a calm morning can be undiveable by early afternoon, so dive early.

The inlet entrance at Port Campbell also breaks in a swell, which can close the launch site even when the wreck is workable. Realistically a dozen days a year.

Drop from the boat close under the island and descend quickly to the bottom in 15–20 m to get below the surge. Work along the base of the cliff where hull plating, railway iron and the bow section lie, look into the cave formed where the hull leans against the island, and check the sand edge at 20–25 m for cargo. Turn at a third of your gas, ascend the cliff face to a safety stop in the lee if the surge allows, and surface with an SMB for the boat to pick you up away from the rocks.

No regular charter. Port Campbell Boat Charters and local fishing charters take experienced divers on request on calm days; Warrnambool Diving and Melbourne clubs organise occasional trips, typically in March–May. Expect to wait for weather.