The Victorian Ships' Graveyard was the official dumping ground for Melbourne's unwanted hulls: an unregulated 'outer Heads' area used from about 1900, and from 1932 the proclaimed Commonwealth Area No. 3, a 6 km circle about 10 km south-west of Barwon Heads in 40–60 m. More than 46 vessels were stripped, towed out through The Rip and sunk with gelignite between 1913 and 1971, and all are protected historic shipwrecks. Casablanca was a three-masted iron barque of 601 tons, 52.5 m (172 ft) long, built by J.

Royden and Sons at Liverpool in 1868. She sailed the world for more than forty years, latterly on the trans-Tasman timber run, before being cut down to a coal hulk in Melbourne in 1912; she then spent another 38 years as a lighter in Hobsons Bay – an 82-year working life. On 16 February 1950 she was towed to the Graveyard and sunk with explosive charges, disappearing at 5.14 pm into 57 m.

For a sailing-ship enthusiast the Casablanca is the pick of the Graveyard's barques. She went down with her lower masts still stepped, and all three lie on the wreck: the foremast at about 45 degrees, the mainmast lying perpendicular to the hull with its crow's nest still identifiable, and the mizzen at about 45 degrees. The stern carries a distinctive sailing-ship wheel, one of the very few surviving in Victorian waters.

The bow section has broken off about 4 m back and points upward; the port side of the hull has collapsed inwards and the starboard side has mostly disappeared into the sand. Sponges and zoanthids colour the iron and the wreck attracts ling, butterfly perch and crayfish. At 57 m she is a trimix or rebreather dive with 40–50 minutes of decompression, lying 298 m from VHB 53 in the western part of the ground, and she is visited a few times a year by technical teams.

She suits divers who value atmosphere and history – masts, a crow's nest and a ship's wheel at depth – over intact machinery, and she pairs with VHB 53 for a two-wreck 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 stern to see the ship's wheel, then swim forward along the collapsed port side past the three fallen masts – the centre one with its crow's nest lying across the hull – to the broken, upturned bow section. Return to the shot at 20 minutes and decompress for 40–50 minutes.

Technical (decompression) dive. Trimix only (18/45 or 15/55) with EAN50 and oxygen deco; a 20 min bottom time typically needs 45–60 min of staged decompression. CCR-friendly with a bailout plan sized for the full ascent.

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. Pair with VHB 53, 298 m away.

No scheduled recreational charters. Red Boats (Queenscliff), Dive Victoria Group and Bay City Charters' technical boat run deep Graveyard charters on request or a few times a season for Melbourne technical clubs (Divernet 2024 also names Chimney Rock Charters and Scubabo); otherwise private technical boats only. Expect the wreck to see only a handful of dives a year.