25th October 2014 – SS Yongala

The Yongala is a 110m former steel passenger and freight steamer. It sank in 1911 during a tropical cyclone with its 124 passengers. The Shipwreck was found only in 1958 and is now a main tourist attraction in Australia. The sea floor surrounding the wreck is open and sandy, so the wreck has become an established artificial reef, providing a structurally complex habitat for a diverse range of marine life. In 1981 the wreck was sketched by marine biologist Leon Zann. Although the superstructure of the wreck remains intact and very much like this sketch, the significant buildup of sand around the starboard side of the vessel has been scoured away, and the ventilators and railings have collapsed.