Sydney Wreck Divers

Wreck of the Centurion
The Centurion was built in 1864, a wooden clipper ship of 1004 tones measuring 63m in length. She sunk in 1887 while heading out of the Sydney Harbour on the way to Newcastle. As she was heading out of the harbour under tow the channel was blocked by two small tugs towing the Manhegan, which was stationary between the heads with two anchors out. The Centurion was unable to make it through due to heavy wind conditions and ran aground. The wreck now lays in 19 m of water. It is quite spread apart but usually there is quite a significant amount of fish life.
Certification- Open water
Depth – 19m

Wreck of the Valient
The Valient was ordered out of Pittwater when her owners damaged her hull whilst stripping her. She was towed about 1.2km off shore before she slipped her tow ropes and sunk stern-first in a matter of 30 seconds. The wreck of the Valient lies slightly on her port side over sand in 27m of water. It is because she's over sand that there is nothing else around and so the Valient has become an artificial reef and attracts a hugh amount of fish, such as mackerels, mado’s, bullseyes, lined catfish, golden morays and king fish (to name a few). The wreck is 23m long and 6m wide, with good diving in and around the engine room, cabins and crew quarters.
Certification required- Advanced
Depth – 27m

The wreck of the Hilda
The Hilda ran aground when her captain gave the incorrect orders on which direction to head. She was a medium-sized vessel with a length of 37m and a width of 6m and now lays in 27m of water with most of the dive at around the 25m mark. Although the wreck is quite broken up you can still make of the shape of the ship with the major parts (prop, rudder, anchors) recognisable. The wreck is located on the Kurnell Peninsula and is well worth checking out.
Certification Required- Advanced
Depth- 27m

Wreck of the S.S. Bombo
In 1949 the collier Bombo carrying 650 tones of Blue Metal disappeared off the coast of Wollongong. The Captain ordered her return to Kembla harbour as the blue metal was shifting in her number-one hold. A combination of this and rough seas caused her to capsize without a trace for more then 30 years. Unfortunately, there were only two survivors. The Bombo now lays upside down and broken in half at a depth of 30 metres just outside Wollongong harbour. She is a perfect artificial reef, home to thousands of fish with several swimthroughs of interest.
Certification required- Advanced (Advanced Deep will be on offer)
Depth- 30m

Wreck of the Royal Sheppard
The Royal Shepherd is located just outside Sydney Heads and is usually done with a Rose Bay Pick up. There is not much left of it - basically you will see the boiler, engine, driveshaft and propeller, all easily seen in one dive. In its day it was 42m long and 6m wide, but sunk on the evening of the 14th of July 1890. it now lays in 27m of water. Some times there is a lot of fish life and other times not much at all.
Certification Required- Advanced
Depth- 27m

The wreck of the Coolooli
The Cooloolie is one of the largest vessels scuttled on the Long Reef Wreck Site. She was a 50m long and 10m wide bucket dredge. Long reef has a lot of wrecks scuttled as an artificial reef and this is a really popular one. The Coolooli was scuttled in August 1980 and now lies on its starboard side on sand in 48m of water, with her port side at 38m. Deep speciality divers can do this wreck safely as a no decompression dive.
Certification Required- Deep Speciality
Equipment Required- Twins or Pony Bottle (available for hire at Abyss)
Depth- 38-48m

Wreck of the S.S. Undola
The Undola left Bellambi in 1918 bound for Sydney Loaded with coal. Early the next morning wreckage was found washed up between Wattamolla and Marley beach in the Royal National Park. To this day they are unsure as to how she sunk. There is a theory that she may have struck a mine floating in the vicinity off the coast or it could have just been rough weather that brought her down. The Undola now lays in about 45 metres of water about 2 km off-shore from Garie Beach. As the wreck is in good structural condition, it makes for a great wreck dive.
Certification Required- Deco procedures
Equipment Required- Twins or Pony Bottle (available for hire at Abyss)
Depth- 45m

Wreck of the Tuggarah
The Tuggarah transported coal from Bulli to Sydney, capsized and sunk in 1919 off Wattamolla (south of Port Hacking) with the loss of six lives. She lays upside down and is half buried, with a small swimthrough and propellers visible. There are loads of fish life on the wreck including wobbygongs, cuttlefish, king fish, bullseyes, nannygais and yellow tail.
Certification required- Deco procedures
Equipment- Twins or Pony bottle (available for hire at Abyss)
Depth – 48m

Wreck of the Annie Miller
48m long 9m wide Feb 1929.
The Annie Miller certainly did not have a long time on the water. Only 6 months after being launched she sunk just north of Bondi Beach. The Annie Milled did trips between shell harbour and Sydney caring blue metal and coal. In her day she was 48m long and 9m wide but sunk in 1929 and now lays in about 45 metres. When she sunk 6 crew members lost there lives. There is a lot of fish life on this dive and it is well worth checking out. It's is a very interesting dive for the experienced deep diver. Well worth repeated dives.
Certification Required- Deco procedures
Equipment Required- Twins or Pony Bottle (available for hire at Abyss)
Depth- 45m

Wreck of the Dee Why
The Dee Why was the ferry that sailed the Manly to circular Quary run from 1928 to 1968. She could carry 1587 passengers. With a gross weight of 799 tonns, about 250 more than any other ferry at the time and was capable of doing speeds in excess of 20 knots. The Dee Why made her last run in 1968 and now she lays on the bottom of the ocean off Narrabeen beach. She was scuttled there as an artificial reef for the area. The wreck lays on a sandy bottom in 47m of water. Before the ferry was sunk she was stripped of her superstructure, and now consists of only the hull, promenaded decks and boilers.
Certification required- Deco procedures
Equipment- twins or Pony bottle (available for hire at Abyss)
Depth – 47m