Tangalooma Wrecks Snorkel Day

In 1963, local boat owners petitioned the Queensland Government for a safe anchorage on Moreton Island's west coast. The response was unprecedented — between 1963 and 1984, the government deliberately scuttled 15 retired vessels close together to form an artificial breakwall. The fleet was deliberately diverse: former coastal trading steamers (Maryborough, built 1885 — the oldest), retired sand dredges, ex-Royal Australian Navy patrol boats (including Pelican), and decommissioned working barges. Five were sunk in 1963, five through the 1970s, and a final five in the 1980s — the last in 1984. The fleet, in order from north to south, comprises: Echeneis, Seal, Platypus II, Stingaree, Maryborough (built 1885 — the oldest), Morwong, Bream, Remora, Bermagui, Pelican, Groper, Dolphin, Iceberg, Kookaburra, and Uki. The accidental result was one of Australia's most spectacular artificial reefs. Today the wrecks host over 100 species of fish, vibrant coral growth, and regular visits from green sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, dugongs, and the occasional wobbegong shark.

The oldest vessel in the Tangalooma fleet. Built in 1885 — predating most of Queensland's coastal settlement infrastructure — the Maryborough served as a working coastal vessel for nearly 80 years before being decommissioned and scuttled at Tangalooma. Among the largest wrecks in the fleet and consistently the most photographed underwater.