Nekton

Diving is a potentially hazardous activity. The materials contained within this magazine are for informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for proper and appropriate training.

Back in 1994 when John Riley and I were in the latter stages of our search for the wreck of the MYOLA off Long Reef in Sydney , covering miles and miles of seabed , where the wreck wasn't, "mowing the lawn" with a towed magnetometer, finding and dive-investigating bits of scrap, earth magnetic anomalies and old anchors, we came across a strong hit south of the wreck reef in the Collaroy Basin.

Elated at first, as we traced the magnetic pattern and were sure it was a wreck, we became suspicious of its location. Although in the zone of probability it was a bit too close to where the other wrecks had been dumped in the 1960s and 70s as fish attractants yet far enough away to be interesting. A quick dive revealed a barge which, because we were using some equipment kindly supplied by Tim Bonner of Apollo Australia, we named the APOLLO barge.

Marking its position we carried on the search for the real target, the MYOLA and a day or so later, out on the edge of the probability area , as we cleaned up one of the unsearched blocks we hit gold. The MYOLA ,virgin wreck, was ours….for a while at least until the wreck rats inevitably moved in.

Eventually we went back to the APOLLO barge and explored it properly. The southernmost of the Collaroy basin wrecks, it sits on reef area ,one which is lightly covered in sand in about 45 - 47 metres. The ship squats upright on its broad bottom and is quite intact…
testimony to the strength of its build materials and unaffected by the huge storms which roll over it from time to time.

It was once a harbour dump barge with a

mechanism, quite visible in the holds, for opening the bottom of the ship to discharge its contents, rubbish, spoil or whatever. Forward, on the deck near the bow, is a substantial winch with a deck hatch and descending ladder nearby. The hold still contains coils of heavy manila rope, the mechanism for opening the discharge sections and , on a recent

dive, a school of 20 or more good-sized bastard trumpeter. On the aft deck stands a deckhouse open to the sea and a companionway down to a small engine. On the same dive as when I saw the trumpeter I also found ,lurking in the deckhouse, a 40 lb-plus mulloway ("Jewie" to youse guys) which was quite unfazed until I held my light within inches of his head. I have seen more good fish on this barge than any of the other hulks just further north.

It's a great dive most days, its GPS co-ordinates (WGS84) are S 33 43.582
E 151 21.049 so find ,dive and enjoy.