Meet the site
The Booya is the most intact and the most poignant of the Cyclone Tracy wrecks. She began life in Holland in 1917 as the De Lauwers, a three-masted, steel-hulled motor-sailing schooner of 262 gross tons and about 36-40 m. Renamed Argosy Lemal in England in 1920, she came to South Australia in 1923, was requisitioned by the Commonwealth in 1942 as a forces radio station, became the Ametco in 1949 and sank at Low Wooded Island in Queensland, was salvaged around 1952 as the Clair Crouch, converted to carry sulphuric acid in 1958, and in 1964 became the Booya, a mother ship for the northern prawn fleets. In December 1974 she was owned by the Denham Island Transport Company and lying at anchor off Fort Hill Wharf with general cargo, freezers and fuel tanks aboard. Cyclone Tracy crossed Darwin in the early hours of 25 December 1974 with gusts estimated at over 200 km/h, destroying most of the city and killing 66 people, many of them at sea. More than 20 vessels sank or were driven ashore in and around the harbour, and several of those wrecks now form a second, much more intact wreck trail beside the 1942 sites. The Booya disappeared with five people aboard: crew members Graham Dearden, Gerald Thompson, Gregory Westerman and Terrance Westwood, and 24-year-old Ruth Vincent. She was found by chance by Cullen Bay Dive divers on 22 October 2003, almost 29 years later, lying on her starboard side in about 20 m. Police divers searched her and found no remains, but personal effects were recovered, including Ruth Vincent's opal ring. The hull is virtually intact, with one of the three masts broken away, deck fittings showing the crew's efforts to save her, and a distinct V-shaped dent in the stern that may be where another vessel struck her. She was declared a heritage site in 2005 with an exclusion zone, and DSAC laid a wreath on her for the 50th anniversary of Tracy in 2024. Divers describe it as an underwater garden, with coral and fish over a recognisable, complete ship - a rarity in Darwin. It suits divers with low-visibility experience who will respect a site where lives were lost.
What you might see
Soft and hard corals on the hull, golden snapper, estuary cod, batfish, trevally, sweetlip, baitfish schools
Location
Darwin Harbour; the schooner broke from her anchorage off Fort Hill Wharf during Cyclone Tracy and lies on her starboard side in about 20 m.
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
dsac.com.aunt.gov.auen.wikipedia.orgrodneyfox.com.auabc.net.auabc.net.auRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.