TSS Wandra wreck (Jervis Bay) – protected historic wreck
The TSS Wandra was a 36 m wooden coastal steamer (164 t) built in 1907 that took on water in heavy seas and sank in The Drum and Drumsticks on 15 December 1915 while carrying timber from Moruya Heads to Sydney; all 12 crew survived. As a wreck over 75 years old it is a protected historic wreck, dived look-only. She lies on sand beside a rocky reef at about 26 m (28 m by other sources) with the boiler, upright engines, prop shafts, winches and hull ribs, and timber cargo sometimes on the sand after big seas. Divers anchor on the reef next to the boiler.
Facts
- Region: New South Wales – Byron Bay to Eden (Australia)
- Area: Jervis Bay
- Depth: 23–28 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: -35.04504, 150.83914
- Highlights: boiler, upright engines, prop shafts, winches, moray and conger eels
- Permit: No permit, but the wreck is protected as a historic shipwreck (over 75 years old): do not remove or disturb anything.
- Tips: Wrecks more than 75 years old are automatically protected under Australian heritage law (the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976, now the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018): look and photograph, never remove or disturb anything. Position is the published GPS mark (WGS84). It is a fair way from calm water, and sand movement can bury the anchor chain and propellers; morays and congers live in the boiler pipes. Advanced Open Water recommended (PADI source). Jervis Bay Marine Park zones apply.