After a very hectic few weeks involving two diving trips to SA and a trip to Hogan Island I was intending to rest up this weekend. However a phone call from Peter Galvin killed that idea off. Did I want to dive Beware Reef at Cape Conran? "Of course I did" came out of my mouth before I could even compute the question and the trip was locked in. Then I googled Orbost (our base) - bloody hell it's 375Km away and I have a 6.15am Graveyard Dive booked for Monday morning, what am I doing to myself!!!
As it happened we couldn't dive Saturday due to the conditions at the boat ramp so I got my rest. It was a different story on Sunday and we had two boats in the water and were motoring towards Beware Reef just after 7.15am. The guys at the Friends of Beware Reef have produced an excellent guide to diving the reef and we grabbed marks and prospective dive sites from that. First dive for me and most of the rest of the crew was the SS Auckland.
And what a spectacular dive it was!!!
The ordinary vis really didn't matter, in fact it created a very atmospheric dive. The wreck is absolutely covered in growth and fishlife was superb.
VSAG Crew's:
On Stroker - Peter Galvin, Ian Scholey, Tony Hood and Rowan Salger
On Dire Straights - David Geekie, Brian Hetherich, Mike Mosseveld and Leo Maybus.
Here is a bit of info on the Auckland:
The S.S. Auckland was an iron screw steamer of 699 tons built in 1863
at Low Walker on Tyne – Newcastle, U.K., by C. Mitchell & Co., on the dimensions of 212 ft. in length, a breadth of 28 ft. and a depth of 16 ft. 3 in. The steamer was initially fitted with a simple two cylinder, low pressure steam engine when sold to the Australasian Steam Navigation Co. in 1869. After being transferred to its new owner the Auckland underwent a major refit, extending the quarterdeck to the bridge to enlarge the passenger accommodation. The engine was also compounded to run at a higher pressure, the first time this modification had been undertaken in Australia.
On its first trip after this refit, the Auckland was returning to Sydney from Melbourne with 50 tons of iron, 500 bags of potatoes and 20 passengers, under the command of Captain Walker. On the night of the 27 May 1871, in thick weather with poor visibility, breakers were seen ahead looming out of the darkness. An attempt was made to reverse the engines but without effect and the Auckland crashed to a halt on Beware Reef, a few miles to the south-east of Cape Conran. The fore hold had been breached with the impact and was flooded, so the crew attempted to shift some cargo to the stern, to try to get the vessel to back off the reef but to no avail.
Sometime later another steamer was seen astern and blue lights and rockets were fired to draw its attention and the S.S. Macedon which successfully removed all passengers and crew and most of the mails from the stricken steamer.
A short time later the steamer Queensland with Captain Walker and some of the Auckland’s crew returned to the site of the wreck to see what could be recovered. They reported that the vessel lay submerged in deep water with only the top of its masts still visible. The result of the subsequent official inquiry into the loss of the vessel, found that after the recent repairs and modifications the owner’s had neglected to check the compasses which
it was believed were made unreliable and as a result of this over-sight, Captain Walker was found not to be accountable for the Auckland’s loss
(Info Credit - Friends of Beware Reef) ... See MoreSee Less
