Batman was one of a pair of iron steam hopper barges built for the Melbourne Harbour Trust by William Simons and Co of Renfrew, Scotland, launched on 3 December 1883 – her sister Fawkner had gone down the ways two months earlier. At 388 tons and 47.7 m they carried dredge spoil from the Yarra and the bay channels out to the dumping grounds. During the Russian war scare of 1885 both barges were armed with a 6-inch gun and Nordenfelt machine guns as auxiliary gunboats of the Victorian Navy, and in 1914 Batman served briefly as a non-commissioned minesweeper.

After 52 years of unglamorous work she was scuttled on Tuesday 21 May 1935 with two 5-pound charges of blasting gelatine. She lies north–south with the bow to the north in 42–46 m of clear water at the western end of the Graveyard. The bow and stern sections are intact but the hopper midsection has collapsed, so the wreck reads as two solid ends joined by low structure.

The bow is the interesting end, dominated by a large upright boiler, and it is where most divers spend their time; the stern retains its shape and shelters ling and crayfish. Sponge and zoanthid growth is good and the Barwon silt is less of a problem here than on the Milora, so visibility of 15–20 m is normal on a calm autumn day. The Batman's virtue is simplicity: a compact, well-defined wreck, top at 39 m and sand at 46 m, that can be covered in one no-fuss lap.

That makes it the preferred site for Melbourne technical training – decompression procedures, first trimix dives, stage handling – and for divers making the step from the 35 m subs to genuine decompression wrecks. Pair it with the Fawkner or Dunloe, both within a few hundred metres, on a two-dive technical day.

Boat only. The western end of the Ships' Graveyard sits 8–12 km south of Barwon Heads and is normally reached from Queenscliff Harbour (Red Boats, Dive Victoria Group technical charters) – a 40–60 minute run out through The Rip and west along the Bellarine coast – or occasionally from the Barwon Heads river ramp in a small boat when the bar is flat. Drive Melbourne–Queenscliff via the Geelong Ring Road and Bellarine Highway (about 1 h 40 min).

Technical charters usually load at the harbour before dawn to get the wreck dived before the afternoon sea breeze. Private boats need a reliable sounder and the published GPS marks, as nothing shows on the surface.

Fully exposed Bass Strait. South-westerly swell is the killer: most charters will not run on a forecast over about 1.5 m, and anything from the south or west over 2 m makes the site undiveable and the passage through The Rip dangerous. Northerly and north-easterly winds flatten the sea; a calm morning after several settled days gives the best visibility (often 15–25 m in autumn and winter).

Surge is felt on the wreck in any swell over 1 m. Tidal streams outside The Heads are weaker than inside but still run; charters aim for slack water at Port Phillip Heads or a favourable tide for the transit. Winter westerlies close the site for weeks at a time.

The wreck sits in or near the shipping approach and pilot boarding ground, so a shot line, surface cover and a delayed SMB are mandatory.

Shot onto the bow, where the structure tops out at about 39 m. Examine the large upright boiler at the bow, then swim south over the collapsed hopper midsection to the intact stern (44–46 m) and return along the other side. A single 20-minute dive covers the whole 48 m barge comfortably.

Ascend the shot with 15–25 minutes of staged decompression.

Technical (decompression) dive. Normoxic trimix (e.g. 21/35 or 18/45) recommended; 20 min bottom time gives roughly 25–40 min of decompression on EAN50 and oxygen. Air dives to this depth are strongly discouraged.

Drop a weighted shot on the wreck, use a delayed SMB from the wreck or a decompression trapeze under the boat; the site is in a shipping approach so free-drifting deco is discouraged. The usual first-trimix and decompression-procedures training wreck in Victoria.

Red Boats (Queenscliff) and Dive Victoria Group technical charters visit the Batman several times a season; it is a standard training wreck for Melbourne technical courses (decompression procedures, normoxic trimix) because of its clean layout. Otherwise private technical boats.