Europa Wreck (Three Breaks Reef)

Meet the site

The Europa was a British-built, Italian-owned iron three-masted barque of 756 tons and 57 m that struck Three Breaks Reef, about 8 miles south of Jurien Bay, on 10 January 1897. Her crew set up a camp on the beach to guard the wreck and its cargo, but, as divingwawrecks tells it, they were distracted by the cargo's alcohol, and the coastal steamer Lubra – herself wrecked in Jurien Bay the following year – began unauthorised salvage.

The wreck lies across the top of the reef in shallow water, with the remains descending southward to about 8 m, where cargo debris covers the seafloor. A notable swim-through and a natural sink reach 14 m and also contain fragmented cargo. The site was long known for its intact bottles in wooden crates, but these had been disturbed by 2014 and broken glass now dominates.

The reef around the wreck has the character of the Turquoise Coast: limestone ledges, overhangs and swim-throughs, with sponges, soft corals and a mix of temperate and subtropical fish carried by the Leeuwin Current – buffalo bream, western king wrasse, harlequin fish, sweep and baldchin groper, plus western rock lobster in the ledges.

It is a worthwhile boat dive for divers based in Jurien Bay with access to a boat, combining history, a reef swim-through and a relaxed profile. The site is protected under historic shipwreck legislation: no artefacts, including bottles, may be removed. Carry a surface marker buoy, as the reef is a long way offshore and boats working cray pots use the area.

What you might see

Buffalo bream, western king wrasse, harlequin fish, sweep, baldchin groper, western rock lobster, sponges, soft corals

Location

Iron three-masted barque wrecked in 1897 on Three Breaks Reef about 8 miles south of Jurien Bay, 4 miles offshore near the Hill River mouth, in 3-14 m.