Ship wrecks, ghosts and giant fish….. diving the SS Yongala.

 

I’ve been fascinated with wreck diving for over 30 years, ever since I first dived on the Tangalooma and Cowan wrecks in Moreton Bay, Queensland. There is something about diving through a blue abyss and having the ominous shadow of a giant ship reveal itself.

 

 

You glide down walk ways, float head first into cargo hatches and steer through coral encrusted windows. The whole experience seems oddly surreal. It’s an eerie feeling as you drift weightlessly down the side of a hull of a massive ship. You can get lost in your thoughts as you marvel at the size and workmanship of a giant propeller. All the time you don’t know what sort of marine creature you will find tucked away in the shadows.

 

 

The SS Yongala was a passenger steamer build in England by the Armstrong and Whitworth Company. It cost 102,000 pounds and was launched on the 29th of April 1903. It disappeared on the 23rd of March 1911 while on a journey from Melbourne to Cairns during a cyclone. The last known sighting of the Yongala was as it left the Whitsunday Passage. Unfortunately it was not fitted with the new wireless communication.

 

The captain would have been informed of the pending cyclone, had it been fitted with the wireless. Initial thoughts of its location were that the captain had taken safe anchor to wait out the cyclone. However, it wasn’t until wreckage was discovered at Cape Cleveland that a search began.

 

The search was extensive but there were no more signs of the Yongala and eventually it was put down as one of those “Sea Mysteries”. In 1943 Navy Minesweeper reported being snagged on what they thought was a shoule at approximately 24 metres,. However, it wasn’t until a Navy Survey Ship the HMAS Lachlan using the latest sonar technology discovered a shoal. They began an extensive sonar mapping when they realised it was probably a ship of about 300 feet in length or 94 metres.

 

In 1958 Bill Kirkpatrick dived on the ship and recovered a strong box from one of the state rooms. The box was identified as being manifested to the SS Yongala, thereby solving the mystery of the SS Yongala’s demise.

 

I have found the location of the SS Yongala an interesting point of fact. Having talked to people who go out to monitor the water around the site for marine research purposes they alway say it is a rough trip out.

 

 

This could be because it stands almost directly out from the mighty Burdekin River which during a cyclone becomes a raging mass of water while at the same time being exposed to the prevailing South East winds, the confluence of two powerful forces. Regardless it would have been a terrifying ordeal for the 120 personnel who died that day in 1911.

Diving the Yongala is almost a right of passage for adventure divers, it is without doubt one of the most fascinating dives you can do, although getting there is not shall we say, smooth sailing. When we visited there was a choppy four metres swell and breaking waves.

 

Now getting to the wreck is half the fun. Liam and I went with Jason and his team from Remote Area Dive. and met up with the team from Yongala Dive at Alva Beach. We were both doing our advanced adventure diving certification at the time. The SS Yongala is a relatively deep dive at 30 metres. We were driven from Townsville by Jason in his reef coloured bus. Alva Beach is near the sugar town of Ayr and is the closest access point to the Yongala wreck.

 

Jumping into the middle of the ocean during a hugh choppy sea is exciting in its own right. Doing so when you’re feeling sea sick is an act of faith. My only consolation is that I know from years of diving that it will all disappear when I get in the water. It didn’t help that I was one of the first in the water and had to wait for other to get in before dropping down the “Drop Line” onto the wreck.

 

Hanging onto the marker bouy and going up four metres in the surf was not fun. However, once my buddy joined me and we went down I started feeling much better. At about five metres I started to see the wreck. With almost 25 metres visibility the sight was magnificent, on this day there was no surge running and the amount of bait fish was outstanding.

We saw schools of Barracuda, coral trout, and an assortment of fish types. The wreck itself was a ghostly reminder of the magnificent days of luxury steamers. Its deck and rails were crusted with over 100 years of coral growth. We started our first dive at the stern under the giant propeller and made our way up along the side of ship to about mid ships before going up to the top rail and then back to the drop line. Our second dive was much the same, except of course this time we didn’t go so deep.

 

Deserving its reputation

The SS Yongala definitely deserves is reputation as one of, if not the best historic wreck dives in the world. The artificial reef created by the SS Yongala has made a secure haven for coral and fish life in an area that would be only a sand floor had it not been there.

I once asked some offical of the Great Barrier Marine Park why they didn’t allow artificial reefs in the marine park. After listening to some long winded public servant argument about regulations and ensuring a natural well reasoned argument based on the latest scientific knowledge of the time.

Unfortunately I kind of lost the thread of the argument and drifted off. I’m sure whatever the argument it would have been the something about being the best thing for the environment. But really?? I don’t think the fish, and corals that thrive on the SS Yongala really care about said regulations.

 

If you’re an adventure diver this is a must do dive. It is definitely a dive for experienced divers though. If you’re new to SCUBA diving I wouldn’t recommend it until you have a few dives under your belt.

 

 

It’s not so much the dive that’s an issue, but at 30 metres it is one of the deeper dives on the reef and as it’s an open ocean dive where things can go wrong very quickly. In the past divers have died on this wreck. We were lucky to have no surge or current around the reef, but people have told me the current can be quite strong at times.

 

 

Hope you liked this adventure, see ya next time – Digital Swaggie:)