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. Dunloe was a three-masted iron barque of 704 tons gross, 55.1 m (181 ft) long, built by Dobie and Co at Glasgow in 1870 for the Australian trade.

She was fast – her last voyage under sail took her from Sydney Heads to Port Phillip Heads in 40 hours – but by 1909 sail was finished and she was cut down to a coal hulk in Melbourne, where she spent 38 years. Her scuttling on Wednesday 2 July 1947 was the most dramatic in the Graveyard's history: in rough seas the tow line parted with two men and the gelignite charges still aboard the drifting hulk, and they had to be rescued before the charges could be set; she finally went down at 5.02 pm in a few minutes, the explosion blowing the stern clean out. The wreck lies in 44–46 m, 667 m west of the Batman.

As an iron sailing hull with no boilers or engine it is, the Scuba Doctor notes, difficult to pick up on a sounder – a good GPS mark and patience are needed. The bow section is the best-preserved part; the hull runs back low along the sand with frames and plating standing a metre or two, to the shattered stern. Sponges and zoanthids colour the iron and the usual western-Graveyard fish – bullseyes, butterfly perch, ling – shelter in the frames, with crayfish in the bow.

The Scuba Doctor describes the Dunloe as just beyond recreational limits but a great dive for technical and decompression divers, and that is exactly how it is used: a clean, compact 46 m wreck a few minutes' steaming from the Batman, ideal for a two-dive normoxic-trimix day or a decompression-procedures course. It suits technical divers in training and anyone who wants an iron windjammer at a manageable depth.

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, the most intact part. Follow the 55 m iron hull aft along one side to the blown-out stern and return along the other; the hull is low, so a single 20-minute lap at 44–46 m covers it. Ascend the shot with 20–25 minutes of 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. Standard pairing with the Batman for two-dive technical days.

Red Boats (Queenscliff) and Dive Victoria Group technical charters visit the Dunloe several times a season, usually paired with the Batman 667 m away; a favourite of Melbourne decompression-procedures courses. Private technical boats otherwise.