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. H.C.

Piggot was a steel steam hopper barge of 495 tons gross, 48.8 m (160 ft) long, built by Fleming and Ferguson at Paisley in 1912 for the Melbourne Harbour Trust and named after a Trust commissioner; she steamed out from Glasgow and arrived in Port Phillip on Sunday 7 July 1912, six weeks after her sister Edward Northcote. Twenty-three years of carrying dredge spoil followed until, offered for scrap with the Burke, Wills, Batman and Fawkner in November 1934, she was scuttled on Monday 14 October 1935. She has broken in half, and the forward half is the dive.

The hull is intact almost to amidships, listing onto its port side with the bow to the south, and stands in one piece proud of the bottom: a large anchor sits on the bow, the foredeck carries its hatch coaming, and the deck beams are exposed and intact, so that trained divers can drop between them into the hull. The propeller shafts run aft from the forward section without their propellers, but at the stern a large iron propeller survives, and two or three intact boilers lie together side by side or in a triangle. Sponges and zoanthids cover everything and the wreck holds ling, bullseyes, butterfly perch and crayfish.

At 46–48 m the Piggot is a normoxic-trimix dive of the same profile as her neighbours the Euro and Pioneer, and the three together make the classic western-Graveyard technical weekend. It suits technical divers who want penetration through open deck beams without tight spaces, and a hull with real character. Skippers should be aware that the long-published GPS was found to be wrong in 2019; local charter marks are more reliable.

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 section, which stands proud and lists to port with the bow to the south. Look at the large anchor on the bow and the hatch coaming, drop through the exposed deck beams into the forward hull if trained, then move aft over the break to the boilers and the big iron propeller at the stern (48 m). Back to the shot at 20 minutes; 25–30 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. Penetration through the exposed deck beams; run a line.

Red Boats (Queenscliff) and Dive Victoria Group technical charters visit the Piggot several times a season, often with the Euro or Pioneer; private technical boats regularly. Note that the published GPS was reported wrong in March 2019 and alternative marks circulate among local skippers.