Meet the site
HMS Pandora is one of the most historically significant shipwrecks in the southern hemisphere. The Royal Navy frigate, with a crew of 135, was sent to the South Pacific in 1790 to hunt down the mutineers of HMS Bounty. Having captured 14 of them in Tahiti, Pandora was searching for a passage through the Great Barrier Reef when, according to the Queensland Museum, she struck the reef around 7:20 pm on 25 August 1791 in fading light. The crew managed to refloat her, but the hull was badly damaged; during the night a pump broke down and the water gained. She sank the next morning with the loss of 35 lives – 31 crew and four prisoners – while 99 survived (89 crew and 10 prisoners) and made an epic open-boat voyage to Timor. The wreck lies within Pandora Entrance, about 5 km north-west of Moulter Cay and roughly 140 km east of Cape York, on a sandy seafloor in about 30 m of water behind a coral outcrop (Mike Ball gives 33 m). Discovered in 1977, it was the subject of nine Queensland Museum archaeological expeditions between 1979 and 1999, which recovered more than 7,500 artefacts now displayed at the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville. A substantial part of the hull survives, buried in sand. Divers who visit on Mike Ball's southbound expedition see the anchor and stove remains and exposed timbers on a white sandy bottom; Divernet reports visibility of around 40 m on a good day. The wreck is protected under the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018, with a 500 m protected zone that requires a permit to enter and dive, and aerial surveillance patrols. This is a deep, short dive with a strict hands-off rule. It suits experienced divers with deep certification who value history over marine life, though the surrounding reef is also rich. Few people will ever dive it; those who do are visiting one of the key sites of Australian maritime archaeology.
What you might see
Reef fish around the wreck and adjacent coral outcrop; whitetip reef sharks; sand-dwelling species
Location
The wreck of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Pandora (sunk 1791) on sand in about 30–33 m in Pandora Entrance, roughly 5 km north-west of Moulter Cay and 140 km east of Cape York; inside a 500 m permit-only protected zone.
Facilities nearby
None – expedition liveaboard only (Spoilsport/Spirit of Freedom provide air, nitrox, meals, cabins).
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
museum.qld.gov.aumikeball.comgbrmpa.gov.audivernet.comRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.