Dive site
SS Yongala
Queensland, Coral Sea, Australia
- Typical depth
- 28 m
- Type
- Wreck
- Level
- Advanced
Notes
Passenger steamer lost in a 1911 cyclone.
Marine life
- Rays
- eagle ray, manta ray, marble ray
- Sharks
- bull shark, tiger shark (occasional)
- Turtles
- green, loggerhead
- Pelagics
- giant trevally, mackerel, barracuda, tuna
- Reef fish
- giant Queensland grouper, maori wrasse, snapper, batfish
- Cephalopods
- cuttlefish, octopus
- Invertebrates
- soft and hard coral encrusting hull, sea snakes
Wreck
- Vessel
- SS Yongala
- Class
- passenger and cargo steamship
- Origin
- Australia (built UK)
- Sunk
- 1911 — lost with all 122 hands in tropical cyclone (23 Mar 1911)
- Length
- 109 m
- Penetration
- Not advised
Site features
- Wreck
- No Penetration
- Protected Wreck
- Exposed Site
- Strong Current
- Marine Life Magnet
When to dive
- Best
- Jun–Nov
- Avoid
- Jan–Mar
Best visibility and calmest seas in the Australian dry season (Jun–Nov). Wet/cyclone season (Dec–Mar) brings rough swell on this exposed Coral Sea site and can shut down the crossing. Protected wreck under the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 (797 m exclusion zone) — no penetration permitted.
Conditions & access
- Visibility
- 10–25 m
- Water temp
- 22–28 °C
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Permit required
- Min cert
- Advanced Open Water — current, depth, exposed offshore profile
Location
19.3056° S, 147.6250° E
Sources
Curated from 1 source
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