Meet the site
Euro was a steel screw tug of 257 tons gross built in Dundee in 1897, one of the ocean-going tugs that towed sailing ships and hulks in and out of Port Phillip and worked salvage jobs along the Victorian coast for more than fifty years. When the age of sail finally ended and diesel tugs arrived she was surplus, and on Thursday 10 June 1948 she was towed out to the Graveyard and sunk with explosive charges. She is, by common consent, the most intact and most charming wreck in the western Graveyard. The hull sits upright in 44–50 m and almost everything is still there: the triple-expansion steam engine stands complete in the engine room, the boilers are in place, the steering quadrant and rudder are at the stern, the big tow anchor is on the bow, and inside the accommodation the crew toilets survive – the standard 'I dived the Euro' photograph. Because the tug was small and heavily built, the scuttling charges did far less damage than on the big steamers and the ship still looks like a ship. Penetration into the engine room and cabins is possible for trained divers and is the main reason people come back. Growth is rich: sponges and zoanthids on the deckhouse and rails, ling and bullseyes inside, crayfish in every gap. Visibility at this end of the Graveyard is usually 10–20 m once away from the Barwon plume. At 50 m to the sand it is a normoxic-trimix dive with real decompression, but the compact size means a 20-minute bottom time feels unhurried. It suits technical divers with wreck-penetration training, and it is the wreck most often named as the best dive in the Graveyard by those who have done the full set.
What you might see
Sponges, yellow zoanthids, ling, bullseyes, butterfly perch, southern rock lobster, blue devilfish, boarfish
Location
Western Ships' Graveyard about 9 km south-south-east of Barwon Heads, 434 m west-south-west of the H.C. Piggot.
Facilities nearby
Departure from Queenscliff Harbour (parking, toilets, cafes, fills at Dive Victoria/Queenscliff Dive Centre) or Portsea Pier (parking on Point Nepean Road, toilets, cafes).
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
scubadoctor.com.auscubadoctor.com.audivernet.comRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.