Meet the site
The Victorian Ships' Graveyard was the official dumping ground for Melbourne's unwanted hulls: an unregulated 'outer Heads' area used from about 1900, and from 1932 the proclaimed Commonwealth Area No. 3, a 6 km circle about 10 km south-west of Barwon Heads in 40–60 m. More than 46 vessels were stripped, towed out through The Rip and sunk with gelignite between 1913 and 1971, and all are protected historic shipwrecks. Leeuwin was launched in 1876 at Whiteinch on the Clyde as the Julia Percy, a 580-ton, 66.8 m (219 ft) iron passenger and cargo steamer for the Western District trade between Melbourne, Port Fairy and Portland, and for thirty years she was a familiar and accident-prone coaster – she survived several collisions and groundings. Renamed Leeuwin in 1906 when she was sold to Western Australian interests, she came back to Melbourne and in 1910 was cut down to a coal hulk and lighter for McIlwraith, McEacharn. On Friday 28 December 1934 (the Scuba Doctor's header says 1932; the detailed account gives 1934) she was towed out and blown up with gelignite at 9.05 am. She lies in about 62 m in the deep eastern Graveyard, a few hundred metres from the Hygeia and Werfa. Published description of the wreck is thin: divers report a long, collapsed iron hull with bow and stern standing and the midships flat, the usual heavy sponge and sea-whip growth of the 60 m band, and ling, boarfish and crayfish in the wreckage. Two marks are in circulation about 800 m apart, which suggests either uncertainty about identification or a second unidentified wreck in the vicinity; teams should confirm the hull they land on. Leeuwin is, with Malaita, Hygeia, Werfa and John Nimmo, part of the deepest tier of the eastern Graveyard – hypoxic trimix or rebreather dives with an hour or more of decompression close to the shipping approach – and is one of the least-dived wrecks in the ground. It is a dive for experienced Melbourne technical teams collecting the full set, and one where careful survey would add real information to the record.
What you might see
Deep-water sponges, sea whips, ling, boarfish, southern rock lobster, butterfly perch
Location
Deep eastern Ships' Graveyard about 6 km south of Point Lonsdale, 346 m south-east of the Hygeia; an alternative mark lies 800 m to the west.
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.auRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.