Tangalooma Wrecks

The Tangalooma Wrecks lie along the western shore of Moreton Island, off Brisbane in Queensland, where a group of retired vessels was scuttled from the 1960s onward to form a boat harbor and breakwater. Around fifteen ships make up the group, sitting in shallow water close to shore, with a maximum depth of about 4 metres over the wreck bottom, which keeps the site accessible to snorkelers as well as divers and rates it a beginner dive. Wobbegong sharks are a regular sighting among the hulls, and divers have also reported dugongs, manta rays, sea turtles and even whale sharks passing through the area. Visibility can be limited compared with reef sites further offshore, since the wrecks sit in a bay affected by sediment and boat traffic, but the calm, sheltered conditions generally keep it approachable for less experienced divers.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Manta rayManta rayReported here · unconfirmed
• Whale sharkWhale sharkReported here · unconfirmed
• Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
• Moon WrasseThalassoma lunareReported here · unconfirmed
• Bengal SergeantAbudefduf bengalensisReported here · unconfirmed
• Threadfin ButterflyfishChaetodon aurigaReported here · unconfirmed
• Blackbarred WrasseThalassoma nigrofasciatumReported here · unconfirmed
• Copperband ButterflyfishChelmon rostratusReported here · unconfirmed
• DugongDugongReported here · unconfirmed
• Whale SharkRhincodon typusReported here · unconfirmed
• WobbegongWobbegongReported here · unconfirmed