Omeo Wreck & Coogee Maritime Trail

Meet the site

The Omeo is one of the most accessible historic shipwrecks in Australia: an iron hull lying in 3 m of water about 25 m off a suburban beach, with its stern breaking the surface. Built in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1858 as a steamer, the Omeo carried passengers and cargo between Britain and the Australian colonies, helped lay the Overland Telegraph cable and famously collided with the Swan Spit pile lighthouse in Port Phillip in 1881. She was later converted to a sailing ship, then stripped to a coal hulk and moored in Owen Anchorage off Fremantle. In 1905 a storm broke her anchor cable and drove her ashore where she lies now. She was judged unsalvageable and left.

The hull is about 65 m long and lies upright. Much of the bow is buried in sand, but divers can follow the iron ribs and plating, three bulkheads, collapsed deck sections and a prominent mast step. The wreck is protected under Commonwealth heritage law: look only, and do not climb or stand on it.

Since 2016 the City of Cockburn has built the Coogee Maritime Trail seaward of the wreck. Almost 70 modules, placed in stages in 2016, 2019 and 2020, now run about 200 m west in 2.5–7 m. They include fibre-reinforced concrete reef units, pyramids, Reef Balls and Bomboras, 3D-printed habitats, a large starfish sculpture, the Stella Maris sculpture, selfie portholes and historic items recovered during the Elizabeth Quay works. The structures have grown over quickly and hold schooling bullseyes and old wives, wrasse, leatherjackets, cuttlefish, octopus and small rays.

This is an ideal first dive, snorkel or photography session and an easy night dive. Experienced divers value it as a relaxed long dive and a place to see Perth's maritime history without a boat.

What you might see

Old wives (including juveniles), rough bullseye, western striped grunter (stripeys), red-lipped morwong, Brownfield's wrasse, wavy grubfish, leatherjackets, cuttlefish, squid, octopus, seahorses, lionfish, rays, nudibranchs, western rock lobster

Location

Iron hulk lying in 3 m just offshore on the northern side of the Port Coogee marina breakwater, the start of the City of Cockburn's 200 m underwater trail of reef modules and sculptures.

Facilities nearby

Public toilets, showers and change rooms at Omeo Park, outdoor showers at the dive stairs, undercover picnic tables, cafes and Port Coogee shopping centre nearby. Free street parking. Air fills at Fremantle and Spearwood dive shops.