AUSTRALIA BELOW THE SURFACE
Every wreck has a story.
Historic ships, former naval vessels and scattered remains. Explore Australia’s wreck-diving places—and learn how to read the story behind the steel.
AI illustration of a fictional wreck. Not a photograph, site plan or equipment demonstration.
HISTORY. HABITAT. EXPLORATION.
Find the wreck.
Understand the dive.
A wreck’s name and depth are only the beginning. Its history, condition, access rules and the route you intend to dive all matter. Use this section to discover places, compare records and ask better questions of local operators.
Our directory includes wreck remains and reef sites associated with wrecks. Inclusion does not mean a site is currently open, regularly visited or suitable for every diver.
10 CHAPTERS • ORIGINAL EXPLANATIONS
Start with the learning guide
Understand the wreck you are looking at
Distinguish a vessel’s history from the kind of dive it offers.
Read depth, access and location correctly
Turn a directory entry into questions that can be verified.
Choose a first wreck for the experience you have
Compare the proposed trip, not a list of famous names.
Know the boundary between outside and inside
Recognise when the environment changes the training question.
Account for conditions and a changing structure
Read current notices before relying on old descriptions.
Connect training and equipment to the intended dive
Ask what a course teaches before choosing equipment or a certification.
Treat wrecks as heritage, not souvenirs
Find the applicable site rules and leave the evidence in place.
Photograph the wreck without changing the dive
Build a visual story from the route you have already agreed.
Build a booking that can survive a change of plan
Resolve practical questions before committing travel time and money.
Turn the dive into a better understanding of the wreck
Record observations that can improve your next visit and the directory.
A FEW STARTING POINTS
Wrecks to research
Explore these records for history, maps and local context. Recorded depths and operator links need confirmation for your actual trip; this is not a ranking or a list of guaranteed departures.
WreckSunshine Coast
Ex-HMAS Brisbane
Queensland's great destroyer wreck – 133 m, upright, funnels 3 m below the surface and 1000+ species – now with a…
WreckFleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor
Ex-HMAS Hobart
A 133 m guided missile destroyer sitting upright in 30 m with the superstructure from 5 m, and the only prepared naval wreck in…
WreckGeographe Bay & Busselton
HMAS Swan Wreck
A 113 m warship upright in 31 m with the crow's nest at 8 m and cut-outs for safe penetration - Australia's first purpose-sunk…
WreckTownsville & Magnetic Island
SS Yongala
A 109 m passenger steamer lost with all 122 aboard in the 1911 cyclone, lying almost intact on its side and swarmed by giant…
Artificial ReefPort Phillip Heads
ex-HMAS Canberra
A 138 m guided-missile frigate scuttled in 2009 and sitting almost upright in 28–32 m with the bridge at 8 m – bridge, galley,…
WreckHervey Bay & K'gari
ex-HMAS Tobruk
Australia's largest military dive wreck – a 127 m landing ship lying on her side, with the shallowest point at 11 m for Open…
BROWSE BY STATE & NAME
Explore the wreck directory
560 wreck-related recordsRecorded information, not live availability
WreckMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
J3 Submarine (Swan Island)
The most complete J-class submarine in Victoria, upright with its deck above water 100 m off Swan Island and resting on the hulk…
WreckPort Phillip Heads
J4 Submarine
The most accessible of Victoria's WWI submarines – intact conning tower, exposed torpedo tubes and open hatches in 19–28 m; a…
WreckPort Phillip Heads
J5 Submarine
An upright, intact WWI submarine glowing with yellow zoanthids; several penetration points through large deck openings.
WreckMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
J7 Submarine (Sandringham)
The last J-class submarine in commission, scuttled as a marina breakwater in 1930 and visible from the Sandringham foreshore – a…
WreckMandurah & Peel
James Service Wreck
The most intact of the Murray Reef wrecks: an 1878 iron barque with a recognisable stern in 3–5 m, lost with all hands.
WreckRottnest Island
Janet Wreck
Admiralty anchors, davit and boiler of Fremantle's largest vessel of 1887, plus a small reef cave, a short swim from the Macedon.
WreckDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Japanese Submarine I-124
Australia's first protected war grave – a WWII Japanese minelaying submarine in 45 m, closed to divers; viewable through a 2022…
Aircraft WreckFar Northern Reef & Torres Strait
Japanese Zero wreck (Hammond Island)
A 1942 Japanese Zero fighter in 4 m off Hammond Island – rare WWII aviation history in the shallows.
Details need confirmationWreckMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
Joanna
An 1856 Port Phillip-built schooner lost in 1857 with a cargo of bagged lime that set to concrete and preserved her – rigging,…
WreckDarwin Harbour
John Holland Barge
An upturned construction barge whose cylinders and beams form a maze of overhangs full of fish.
WreckPort Phillip Heads
John Nimmo
An 1887 Footscray-built Harbour Trust bucket dredge standing 4–5 m proud in 68 m – possibly the best-preserved wreck in the…
WreckAdelaide Metro
John Robb Wreck
A rarely visited, broken-up 1879 Port Adelaide-built vessel far offshore, with its bow still recognisable.
WreckShipwreck Coast & Warrnambool
John Scott
Iron fastenings and ballast of an 1858 brig in the platform gutters at Bold Projection – a remote heritage snorkel on the…
Details need confirmationWreckSurf Coast & Great Ocean Road
Joseph H Scammell
Torquay's founding shipwreck story on a shallow sanctuary reef; anchor and scattered iron among kelp gutters within a surface…
Details need confirmationWreckHervey Bay & K'gari
K'gari Wreck (Roy Rufus Artificial Reef)
The broken, heavily encrusted hull of the 1897 K'gari at 16 m on Hervey Bay's historic artificial reef.
Details need confirmationWreckBundaberg & Agnes Water
Karma Wreck
An intact, upright 42 m barge in 27 m with an open hold, crane and two-level bridge, guarded by giant estuary cod and schools of…
WreckHuon & Far South
Katherine Sharer Wreck
Scattered remains of Tasmania's first major locally built trader, blown up in 1855 – also the site of the state's first sport…
Details need confirmationWreckMargaret River & Augusta
Katinka Wreck
The bow, bowsprit, windlass and masts of an 805-ton iron barque wrecked in the 1900 storm, in 5-6 m.
WreckDarwin Harbour
Kay Lee
An intact, upright steel fishing boat in 14 m with a resident grouper around 1.8 m long.
WreckDarwin Harbour
Kelat
A relaxed 12 m dive on the remains of an 1881 iron sailing ship turned naval coal hulk, sunk after the 1942 raid.
ReefHuon & Far South
Kellys Rocks (Recherche Bay)
Large, weedy headland reef in Recherche Bay with remains of the 1846 whaler Maria Orr.
Details need confirmationWreckPerth
Key Biscayne Oil Rig Wreck
An upturned oil rig in 26–42 m of often clear blue water, known for grey nurse sharks and large fish.
WreckAlbany & Great Southern
Kingfisher Wreck (Princess Royal Harbour)
One of WA's oldest iron wrecks, an 1854 barque partly exposed at low water in Princess Royal Harbour.
WreckKangaroo Island
Kingscote – Fanny M Wreck and Nepean Bay Reef
Anchors and timbers of the 1884 barque Fanny M hidden in a sheltered weedy reef off Kingscote.
Details need confirmationGo deeper into the history
Use heritage records to investigate a vessel’s identity and story, then check site managers and operators separately for present-day access.
DCCEEW — Underwater cultural heritage
Australian underwater heritage framework and research resources.
Open primary source ↗WA Museum — Maritime Archaeology Databases
Researching ship identities, archaeological records and artefacts.
Open primary source ↗DCCEEW — Underwater heritage protected zones
Site-specific protected zones and activities requiring permission.
Open primary source ↗