The underwater sculptural installation Wonder Reef off north-eastern Australia has been opened to divers, following a ceremonial underwater ribbon-cutting at 15m by scuba-diving dignitaries Tom Tate, mayor of the City of Gold Coast, and Queensland’s deputy premier Steven Miles on 4 June.
With widespread reporting of climate-change damage to the Great Barrier Reef, the idea of introducing artificial diver attractions is gaining greater currency in Australia, as it works to rebuild tourism levels following the Covid pandemic.
The £2.9m project is a joint initiative between the city and the state government, which hope it will attract more than 16,000 divers a year and generate the equivalent of around £18.5m for the area over the next decade. Wonder Reef was previewed on Divernet in 2019.
Mayor Tate, who had learnt to scuba dive especially for the ceremony, described the experience as “out of this world” and said: “I would call this a theme park under water – it’s Gold Coast style.
“It is just an amazing experience – the marine life is as good as what you’ll see at any other dive-site. The coral is thriving, and the sculptures are just mesmerising.
“Renewing our tourism products and attractions is vital if we want to keep our title as Australia’s tourism capital – and believe me, this is something special.”
The reef lies 2.5km off the coast and consists of nine giant buoyant reef sculptures rising to within 8m of the surface from a 30m-deep seabed. The installation covers an area of 32,000sq m.
Its components weigh more than 738 tonnes and had to be constructed to withstand the possible effects of the cyclones that can occur in the area in certain times of year. The sculptures are said to sway like giant kelp.
Tethered by reinforced concrete and steel pyramids, the moving sculptures are already said to have become home to hundreds of marine-life species in recent months, including lobster, octopuses, baitfish, turtles, giant gold-spotted rock cod and grouper. Six species of corals were planted at the site in late 2021.
Wonder Reef brings the number of sites on the official Gold Coast dive-trail to 11, including several wrecks, say the organisers.
Regular dive tours of Wonder Reef are being operated up to five days a week by two local operators, Gold Coast Dive Adventures and Queensland Scuba Diving, from 8 June. The dive centres charge from Aus $165 (about £94) for a two-tank boat-trip, with the second dive at a local natural site.
Find more information about the installation at the Wonder Reef site.
