SS Esk (Hebe Reef)

Meet the site

The Esk was an iron steamer of 854 gross tons, built in 1877 at Port Glasgow as the Vampire and measuring 190.6 x 27.1 x 21.2 ft. She was wrecked on Hebe Reef on 24 April 1886. The Marine Life Network guide rates the wreck 6 out of 10: heavily broken up in about 5 m, with the boiler and stern relatively intact and the engine, winches and propeller visible.

It notes that the wreck has been heavily souvenired over many years and that yellow-green weed camouflages the remains, which are easiest to locate at low water. The barque Eden Holme lies only 40 m east, so both wrecks are usually seen on one dive. As with all Tamar entrance sites, local knowledge of the tides is worth more than any written description, and a first visit with Launceston club divers is the best introduction.

The Tamar entrance is one of the most tidally energetic dive areas in Tasmania, and the Marine Life Network guide classes several sites here as category 4-5 because of current and shipping. Hebe Reef, a shallow reef at the mouth, has claimed many ships since the early 19th century, and its wrecks are protected historic sites. The flip side of the current is prolific filter-feeding life - sponges, bryozoans and ascidians - on any structure the water flows over.

Launceston divers have access to these sites within an hour of the city, and the sheltered Low Head shore dive is a regular training and club venue. The nearest hyperbaric chamber, however, is at the Royal Hobart Hospital about 3 hours' drive south, as Launceston General Hospital has none, so plan slack-water dives conservatively.

What you might see

Yellow-green weed, wrasse, leatherjackets, magpie perch, encrusting invertebrates

Location

Broken-up iron steamer Esk (1886) on Hebe Reef at the Tamar entrance, with boiler, engine, winches and propeller visible in about 5 m.

Facilities nearby

Low Head: pilot station museum, lighthouse, parking, toilets, cafe (seasonal); boat ramp. George Town: shops, fuel, accommodation. Air fills: Tasmanian Divers, Launceston.