The Netherby, a 944-ton Black Ball Line ship carrying 456 emigrants from London to Brisbane, went off course heading east through Bass Strait and struck the shore about 3 km south of Currie on 14 July 1866. Remarkably, nobody died in the wreck: King Island Tourism notes that all aboard survived, and two children were born after the wreck while the survivors were camped on the island, although three men later died during salvage.

The Marine Life Network guide rates the site 6 out of 10: heavily broken up in shallow water about 70 m offshore at 4-5 m, with a few artefacts, hull timbers and ironwork visible. It compares it with the Blencathra but with fewer artefacts, and warns that it is very exposed to the prevailing westerly swells.

King Island has more recorded shipwrecks than anywhere else in Australia - King Island Tourism puts the figure at over sixty - because ships running for Bass Strait on the 'clipper route' from Europe had to thread the gap between the island and Cape Otway, often in fog and gales with uncertain navigation. Most wrecks lie in shallow water on exposed reefs and have been broken up by more than a century of westerly swell, so diving them is about history and scattered remains rather than intact hulls.

All wrecks over 75 years old are protected under Commonwealth and Tasmanian heritage law: look but do not touch, and report any new finds to the Parks and Wildlife Service maritime archaeologist. With no chamber on the island, a diving injury means aeromedical evacuation to Melbourne or Hobart, so dive conservatively and carry oxygen.

King Island is reached by air from Melbourne (about 50 minutes), Burnie/Wynyard or Launceston; there is no passenger ferry, so divers fly in and hire a vehicle at the airport near Currie. Currie, the main town, is on the west coast; Grassy (with its harbour and boat ramp) is on the south-east coast about 30 minutes' drive away. Roads to the coast are a mix of sealed and gravel.

The Netherby site is off Netherby Point about 3 km south of Currie Harbour; a coastal walk of about 3 km leads from Currie Harbour to the wreck site overlook. Divers use a boat launched at Currie, a 10-minute run.

King Island sits in the path of the Roaring Forties, and its west coast (Currie, Netherby, Cataraqui, Brahmin) takes the full force of the prevailing westerly and south-westerly swell; these sites are diveable only after long calm periods or in easterly weather, which is most common in late summer. The east coast around Grassy is sheltered in westerlies and becomes the fallback. Strong tidal streams run around the island's capes after gales.

Very exposed to prevailing westerly swell.

Anchor off the point in a flat sea and search the shallow rocky bottom at 4-5 m for hull timbers and ironwork. Turn the dive at half gas (thirds where current or overhead sections are involved), deploy an SMB before surfacing for the live-boat pick-up, and complete a 3-minute safety stop at about 5 m where depth allows.

No dive shop or charter currently listed on King Island (Underwater Australasia has no listings); the King Island Dive Charters/Dive Centre referred to in older guides no longer appears to trade. Visitors must bring their own gear and arrange cylinders and a boat locally (hire weights/tanks on the island where possible to reduce air freight). Verify any current operator before travelling.