HMAS Swan (ex-navy destroyer, permit for private boats)
Permit-managed artificial-reef wreck: the 113 m former naval destroyer HMAS Swan was scuttled on 14 December 1997 about 1.3 nautical miles off Point Picquet (Meelup Beach), Dunsborough, as the Southern Hemisphere's first deliberately prepared dive wreck. She sits nearly upright on sand in about 30 m, with red buoys marking bow and stern and upper structure much shallower. Access holes were cut and the engine and boiler rooms sealed; the site is a no-take zone. Dive boats run from Dunsborough and Busselton, about 15 minutes out.
Facts
- Region: Western Australia – Ningaloo, Rottnest & the south-west
- Area: Geographe Bay (Busselton & Dunsborough) – temperate
- Depth: 5–32 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: low
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: -33.55056, 115.10056
- Highlights: bullseye, King George whiting, samson fish, blue devil, sweep, penetration, artificial reef
- Permit: Private-boat divers need an access permit (day, month or year pass; non-refundable, non-transferable) issued for the Geographe Bay Artificial Reef Society (GBARS), which owns and manages the wreck; tourism listings point to the Dunsborough Visitor Centre (one listing mentions Busselton). Holders must agree to the Swan Dive Wreck Code of Practice. Commercial charters include access. Price and contact details were not listed on the pages checked.
- Issuer / contact: Geographe Bay Artificial Reef Society (GBARS) / Dunsborough Visitor Centre
- Tips: Advanced site, suited to supervised open-water through technical diving; penetration needs wreck training. Private-boat divers need an access permit (day, month or year) from the Geographe Bay Artificial Reef Society via the Dunsborough Visitor Centre and must follow the Swan Dive Wreck Code of Practice. No fishing or spearfishing within 200 m of the marker buoy; taking anything from the wreck is banned. Depth sources differ (30–35 m).