Off the southern coast of Victoria, beneath the busy shipping lanes and wind-stirred waters, lies a world of twisted steel, coral encrustations, and ghostly shipwrecks, and Kerrie Burow reckons it represents some of the best wreck diving in the country.
Australia’s Southern Shipwreck Capital
Port Phillip Bay and the treacherous Bass Strait beyond are littered with the wreckage of Australia’s maritime past – some accidental, others intentional. This is a wreck-loving diver’s paradise and historian’s dream, where every dive is a connection to the lives and legacies spent at sea. Whether you’re a recreational diver or a seasoned technical explorer, the wrecks here range from shallow sites ideal for photography to deep, challenging dives in cold, low-light conditions.
When conditions are good, they can be stunning – clear blue water, vibrant marine life, and wrecks carpeted in jewel anemones and soft corals. Add to this the chance to dive with curious seals or glimpse dolphins and whales, and it’s no wonder Melbourne and its surrounds boast one of the most-diverse collections of wrecks across any major Australian city — scattered across depth ranges from 6m to 80m plus. Depending on where you’re based in the city, you might be on-site within an hour, or planning a weekend expedition.
The Victorian Ships’ Graveyard: A Maritime Time Capsule
Known by Victorians as ‘The Ships’ Graveyard’, the southern approach to Port Phillip Heads has claimed more than 600 ships over the centuries. The Rip, where the calm bay meets the ferocious oceanic churn of Bass Strait, is notorious for its narrow channel, sudden tidal surges, and shifting sandbars. In the 19th and mid-20th centuries, this zone saw dozens of merchant vessels, steamers, and even warships meet their end.
These are not just wrecks, they are maritime time capsules. Over time, cold southern waters and strong currents have preserved many vessels surprisingly well. For divers, this means the opportunity to touch hull plates riveted by hand a century ago, to peer into cargo holds that once carried wool, coal, or gold, and to explore the skeletal remains of once-great seafaring machines.
In recent decades, Victoria has deliberately scuttled several vessels to add to its underwater playground — including naval vessels, dredgers, and barges. These wrecks serve not only as training grounds and reef systems, but as reminders of our seafaring history. Every shipwreck is a story, and every dive a page in the unfolding maritime chronicle of southern Australia.
“Look at the variety of wrecks we have!” says Jane Bowman, an instructor and legend in Melbourne’s diving community. “The only drawback is the weather, and in winter, the temperature of course. But again, due to technology changes, we have most, if not all, divers in drysuits, better undergarments, heated vests, accessibility to mixed gases and so on…”
Rus Pnevski, a highly experienced CCR and extreme technical diver who grew up in Mornington (the gateway to the Mornington Peninsula), agrees. “By this point in my diving career I think I’ve done almost all of [the wrecks in the graveyard]. I think I could count on one hand the ones I haven’t done.”
Wreck Diving for Recreational and Advancing Divers
While recreational diving certification typically limits divers to a maximum of 30m, many of Victoria’s shipwrecks straddle this boundary — offering thrilling and historically rich experiences within and just beyond this range. For those with additional training in decompression techniques and gas management, many of these same wrecks open up into the realm of technical diving. The variety of depths and accessibilities make this region ideal for both seasoned tech divers and recreational divers eager to grow their skills in a wreck-heavy environment.
With dozens of wrecks scattered across the Victorian Ships’ Graveyard, it’s impossible to cover them all in one article. While each wreck has its own story, the following are some of the most popular and frequently visited by divers. SS Coogee (28m–34m) – Launched in Sunderland, England in 1887, the Coogee served in various passenger and mail roles between Tasmania and mainland Australia before later becoming a minesweeper and examination vessel during World War One. She was finally decommissioned and scuttled in 1928. Today, her remains are a favourite among Melbourne divers due to her accessible depth. Her historical background as both a civilian and military vessel adds a layer of fascination for those who explore her.
“These wrecks are not just twisted metal on sand — they are chronicles of war and commerce, of migration and miscalculation, of storms and salvage”
Ex-HMAS Canberra (5m–32m) – Commissioned in 1981, HMAS Canberra was an Adelaide-class guided missile frigate that served with the Royal Australian Navy for over two decades, participating in international peacekeeping and naval exercises. She was decommissioned in 2005 and scuttled four years later to create Victoria’s first artificial reef of this scale. Her purposeful sinking was planned to allow divers safe penetration of many internal compartments, making her a prized site for both training and exploration.
J-Class Submarines (26m–38m) – These British-built World War One submarines were the only seven of their class ever made. Six of them were gifted to Australia postwar. They were scuttled in the 1920s around Port Phillip Bay to create artificial reefs. J4 (just off the mainland coast) is the most intact, featuring easily identifiable torpedo tubes and open hatches. J1, known as ‘The J1 Deep Submarine’, lies further offshore and is a technical dive, while J5 (‘The Yellow Submarine’) and J7 are favourites for photographers. With long sleek hulls draped in kelp, these submarines feel like sleeping time captures resting on the seafloor.
Iconic Wrecks of Port Phillip Bay
Hurricane (12m) – The Hurricane was a 19th-century three masted iron clipper that sank near Rosebud in 1869. The wreck rests on a seabed made up of sand, silt, and shells. While much of the site has been salvaged and the structure is heavily fragmented, several key features are still clearly visible to divers. The remnants of the iron hull have become an artificial reef, now covered in colourful marine life such as sponges, urchins, starfish, bryozoans, and a wide range of fish species.
Euro (50m) – The Euro was a steam tug scuttled in the 1948. As a former tugboat, the Euro was built to be sturdy, and her structure remains largely intact. Divers can still see features like the toilets, triple-expansion steam engine, tow anchor, boilers, and steering quadrant. The hull is penetrable, making it a favourite site among deep and technical divers.
Beverwijk 19 (46m) – A former steam dredge, the wreck is in a deteriorated condition. The upright stern, exposed propeller, and sizable boiler are still visible. Notable parts of the dredging equipment remain, including the large wagon wheels and the suction pipe at the bow, along with various remnants of the original pumping system. “The Beverwyk has some interesting huge cogs and penetrable areas,” notes Rubens Monaco, a highly experienced local technical diving instructor.
Batman (46m) – Following more than five decades of service, the Batman was retired and deliberately sunk in the Victorian Ships’ Graveyard, Bass Strait, after being towed out through Port Phillip Heads in 1935. This hopper barge has excellent visibility and is a perfect wreck for advanced divers practicing decompression. Its flat deck and clean lines make for calm, controlled exploration.
Wareatea (48m) – The Wareatea was a New Zealand-built steam cargo and passenger ship operating in the Tasman and Bass Strait during the first half of the 20th century. She was later brought to Victoria for scuttling as part of the graveyard project. Though not widely known outside the technical diving community, the Wareatea offers a unique look at early-century cargo design with her twin hatches, central superstructure, and mast sections. The wreck is now coated in thick carpets of sponges and soft corals, and attracts large schools of fish. This is a really stunning dive when the visibility is good.
The Pioneer (50m) – She is one of the most-complete large wrecks accessible to Melbourne-based technical divers. “There’s so much to explore as it’s so big,” says Jane Bowman. “It also has great marine life around it.”
The Fawkner (46m) – Bright with marine life, the bow of the Fawkner wreck offers a vibrant welcome to divers. As you glide over the hopper toward the bow, the strongback structure is easy to spot, and just a few metres from the stern, the ship’s boiler still rests. The propeller remains visible, and parts of the wreck are open for penetration dives. Resting in the Victorian Ships’ Graveyard, the Fawkner once served multiple roles – as a self-propelled hopper barge, a gunship, a torpedo boat tender, and a minesweeper. She was a sister ship to the Batman, sharing a legacy of versatility and service. “The stern section is intact with the rudder and prop visible, and a large school of bullseyes always around,” says Rubens Monaco.
The Courier (42m) – The Courier wreck has mostly collapsed, but the bow and stern remain the most intact, with the foredeck rising about seven metres from the seafloor. Behind it, the hull has fallen away, revealing two boilers and the deck hatch on the seabed. The stern’s counter shape is still visible, though less intact than the bow.
Now an artificial reef in a sandy expanse, the wreck teems with life. Colourful sponges, corals, and zoanthids cover the structure, attracting butterfly perch, bullseye, old wives, and even blue devilfish. Large crayfish often shelter beneath the boilers. Rubens describes diving it as unforgettable: “I could see the entire wreck from 5m, and it was covered in lobster.” Located in the shipping channel, access is rare and precious.
“I’ve dived nearly all the wrecks in the graveyard,” Rubens stated. “Some only a few times, most at least 15–20 times. The concentration of wrecks in one area makes it a mecca for the wreck diving enthusiast.” Rus Pnevski agrees: “The most rewarding aspects of wreck diving in this area is the abundance of life. It’s hard to believe the quality of visibility and marine activity we get in southern Victoria.”
Of his favourite graveyard dive, Rus says: “Wreck X is a large wreck. When I did it last in 2017, it was still quite intact, and we had an amazing dive on it with crystal blue waters and dolphins on deco.”
When Wreck Diving Goes Deep: Technical Exploration
“The tech diving community on the Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne is one of the best I’ve experienced. It really feels like a family down here,” he adds. “On any given summer’s day at Portsea Pier, droves of divers catch up while waiting for boats. And these days, you’ll find multiple rebreather divers across almost every boat. The scene has really grown thanks to great instructors and access to deep sites in all but the worst conditions.”
Extreme Depths and Historic Losses
Beyond the familiar depths of the Ships’ Graveyard lie some of Victoria’s most-extraordinary wreck dives — shipwrecks that rest below 75m and demand the highest levels of training, discipline, and equipment.
These are not just deep dives; they are ambitious expeditions into cold, clear, high-stakes environments.
“While recreational diving certification typically limits divers to a maximum of 30m, many of Victoria’s shipwrecks straddle this boundary — offering thrilling and historically rich experiences within and just beyond this range”
Closed-circuit rebreathers, trimix gases, and multiple bailout cylinders are standard for this tier of diving. But the payoff is immense – large, largely intact wrecks that only the most highly trained divers have ever seen, often with remarkable visibility and an almost-reverent stillness. These deep sites, like the SS Alert and TSS Kanowna, represent some of the pinnacle of wreck exploration in southern Australia.
SS Alert (75m) – Built in 1877, the Alert was an iron-screw steamship that sank in a violent storm in 1893. It was one of Victoria’s worst maritime disasters, with 15 of the 16 people on board lost. The sole survivor, cook Robert Ponting, clung to a cabin door for 16 hours before washing ashore at Sorrento’s back beach, 15km from the wreck. He was found unconscious and half-buried in sand by four young women.
She now rests 75m deep in Bass Strait, about 10km south of Cape Schanck and is one of the most historically significant sites in the Victorian Ships’ Graveyard. With no official salvage ever undertaken, the ship remains largely undisturbed—still holding personal belongings of its passengers and crew, as well as a small but varied cargo that offers insight into late 19th-century coastal trade and life at sea. The Alert’s location makes her highly vulnerable to current and swell, but when the weather aligns, she offers a stirring and sombre deep dive experience. The SS Alert is located within a designated protected zone, and access is restricted without a permit from Heritage Victoria.
TSS Kanowna (82m) – Built in 1902 to serve the northwestern Australian route, the TSS Kanowna was requisitioned as a troopship during World War One. In 1929, she ran into rocks and sank off Wilsons Promontory while en route to Sydney. The wreck, rediscovered in 2005, is one of the deepest historic shipwrecks regularly dived in Victoria. With sections still recognisable despite the depth and corrosion, she offers a moving dive experience steeped in wartime history and maritime tragedy.
Getting to the Wrecks: Charters and Access
Several charter operators – Chimney Rock Charters, Scubabo, and Bay City Charters – run regular boat dives to many of the shipwrecks featured in this article, especially those within recreational depth limits. For deeper technical dives, trips can often be arranged when there’s enough interest. Most boats offer pick-up from Queenscliff on the western side of Port Phillip Bay and Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula side.
Dive shops are conveniently located around the Bay, providing gas fills and equipment hire for all levels of divers.
The Graveyard: A Living Legacy Beneath the Waves
To dive the wrecks of Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait is to time travel with fins and cylinders. These wrecks are not just twisted metal on sand — they are chronicles of war and commerce, of migration and miscalculation, of storms and salvage. In their decay, they reveal the beauty of southern Australia’s underwater realm.
Today, this region stands as arguably the finest wreck diving destination in the country. It’s not always easy. Conditions can be hard. Sometimes the windows of opportunity are small. But when the ocean co-operates, it rewards with beautiful blue long-range visibility, marine life, and unforgettable dives.
For wreck divers — especially those drawn to steel, silence, and the allure of the unknown — Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait offer an underwater archive unlike any other in Australia. This is arguably the best wreck diving in Australia.
NB: This article is dedicated to the memory of Luke English, who was the first person I approached about diving the wrecks of the Victorian Shipwreck Graveyard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Victorian Shipwreck Graveyard?
It lies off Port Phillip Heads in southern Victoria, extending into Bass Strait near Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula.
Is wreck diving in Victoria suitable for recreational divers?
Yes. Many wrecks sit between 6m and 30m, making them accessible to recreational divers, while deeper sites suit technical divers.
What marine life can be seen on Victorian shipwrecks?
Divers can expect jewel anemones, sponges, soft corals, crayfish, bullseyes, seals, and occasionally dolphins and whales.
Do I need special training to dive the deeper wrecks?
Yes. Wrecks below 40m typically require technical training, decompression procedures, trimix, or rebreather certification.
Why is Victoria considered one of Australia’s best wreck diving destinations?
The sheer density, historical significance, depth range, and marine life make it unmatched by any other major Australian city.
This article was originally published in Scuba Diver Magazine
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