Port Phillip · Australia · Wreck
SS Coogee
A scuttled 1887 ferry at 33-35 m, bow and stern intact
Area photo: Kgbo · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Coogee lies about four kilometres offshore between Point Lonsdale and Barwon Heads, on a flat limestone and sand seabed, with the bow at thirty-three metres and the stern at thirty-five. She was a British-built passenger ferry that spent a year as a Royal Australian Navy patrol vessel before being scuttled in 1928.
Also known as HMAS Coogee.
Where it is and how deep
38.3080° S, 144.5685° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The wreck sits on an open floor of limestone and sand about four kilometres out, facing north towards shore, with the bow in thirty-three metres and the stern in thirty-five. Bow and stern are the intact parts and still hold the shape of a ship; between them much of the midships is flattened or missing, so the middle of the dive runs over collapsed structure rather than through it.
A sensible plan is one end and then the other: work the bow section first, follow the line of the hull back over the flattened midships and the boilers standing up out of it, and finish over the stern before coming up. Yellow zoanthids cover the structure and fish hold over it in numbers. At thirty-five metres on a cold bottom this is a short dive on a fixed budget of time, so the route is decided on the boat rather than worked out in the water.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Coogee
- Type
- Passenger ferry, later RAN patrol vessel and minesweeper
- Length
- 68.6 m (225 ft)
- Built
- 1887
- Sunk
- 1928
- Cause
- Deliberately scuttled after being sold for scrap in 1927
- Lies
- Facing north towards shore on flat limestone and sand, bow at 33 m and stern at 35 m
She was launched at Sunderland on 23 March 1887 as the Lancashire Witch, built by J.L. Thompson and Sons for the Liverpool to Isle of Man run, and was bought by Huddart Parker in 1888 and renamed Coogee. The Royal Australian Navy requisitioned her on 20 May 1918 as an armed patrol vessel and Bass Strait minesweeper, and returned her to her owners in 1919. She was sold for scrap in 1927 and scuttled the following year with her engines removed.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Port Phillip: The spider crab aggregation runs May–Jul; winter also brings the clearest water, while summer is warmest but greener.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the SS Coogee wreck?+
The bow rests at 33 metres and the stern at 35, on flat limestone and sand about four kilometres offshore between Point Lonsdale and Barwon Heads.
Sources
- SS Coogee, wreck — Scubago/SSI
- HMAS Coogee — Wikipedia
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