The PS Maitland gave her name to Maitland Bay and to one of the worst storms in NSW history. Built in 1870 by McCulloch and Co at Port Glasgow, she was an iron-hulled paddle steamer, 69 m long and 880 tons, with a two-cylinder engine, four boilers and two funnels. On 6 May 1898, sailing from Sydney to Newcastle, she was caught in a southerly gale so severe it is still called the Maitland Storm.

Trying to turn back for shelter in Broken Bay, she drifted towards land, struck the reef at what is now Maitland Bay and broke in two. Between 21 and 26 people died, according to Michael McFadyen, with 37 surviving; COAST Magazine records 62 aboard and about 29 deaths, including the dramatic rescue of baby Daisy Hammond, whose ashes were later scattered over the wreck. The main remains, including the boilers, lie on the rock platform in the intertidal zone, with bow and stern sections on the rocks.

McFadyen and the Marine Life Network are both clear that there is very little to see in the water - one experienced diver found nothing of note underwater - so this is not a conventional scuba site. The value is historical and scenic: the rusting boilers on the platform, framed by the cliffs of Bouddi National Park, are one of the most evocative shipwreck sites on the NSW coast. Maitland Bay itself is within the fully protected Bouddi National Park Marine Extension, and on calm days its clear water is rated among the best snorkelling on the Central Coast.

Snorkellers see fish, squid and rays over sand and rocky edges at both ends of the bay. Visit it as a low-tide heritage walk combined with a snorkel. The steep track means it suits fit walkers, and there are artefacts at the Henry Kendall Cottage museum and a bell replica at the Maitland Bay Information Centre.

From Gosford drive via Kincumber and The Scenic Road to Killcare Heights and park at the Maitland Bay track car park (Maitland Bay Information Centre) on The Scenic Road. The Maitland Bay track is short but steep - about 1 km downhill through rainforest and heath, with many steps - to the beach. Walk to the eastern end of the bay and along the rock platform at low tide to see the boilers and hull remains.

Carrying full scuba gear down and back up the track is hard work; most visitors snorkel or simply explore the remains at low tide.

Maitland Bay faces south-east and is exposed to southerly and easterly swell, which surges across the rock platform where the wreck lies; visit only in small seas (under 1 m) and near low tide, when the boilers and hull sections are exposed. On calm days in summer and autumn the bay can be very clear. North-westerly winds offer the most shelter.

Avoid the platform in any significant swell - waves wash across it without warning.

At low tide walk out to the boilers on the platform, then snorkel along the edge of the platform where debris extends into shallow water. There is little to see deeper; the wreck is best treated as a low-tide heritage walk combined with a snorkel of the bay.

Historic shipwreck protected under the Heritage Act; within Bouddi National Park Marine Extension (no-take).

No dive operator runs trips; visited independently by walkers and snorkellers.