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. Sir William McPherson was a steel steam dredge of 482 tons gross, 48.3 m (158.5 ft) long, built by L.

Smit and Sons at Kinderdijk in the Netherlands in 1912 as the H.A.M. 4 for the Dutch dredging contractor Hollandsche Aanneming Maatschappij. The Melbourne Harbour Trust bought her in 1924 and renamed her after the Victorian premier and Trust chairman; she dredged the Yarra and bay channels until she was laid up in 1939, when her superstructure, deckhouse and engines were removed. Ten years as a stripped hull followed before she was towed out and scuttled at 5.39 pm on 12 May 1949, sinking 35 minutes later.

She is one of the more rewarding deep Graveyard wrecks because so much was left aboard. The boilers remain at the stern and, in the Scuba Doctor's words, make for a nice swim-through; the vertical engine exhausts still stand; a large anchor sits near the bow; heavy deck equipment is intact; and, unusually for a Bass Strait wreck of this age, much of the original timber decking survives despite partial collapse. Between the boilers and the bow the open dredge well gives the hull its characteristic shape.

Sponges and zoanthids cover the steel and the wreck attracts the deep-water fish of the central Graveyard – ling, boarfish, butterfly perch, big crayfish. At 52–57 m she is a trimix dive with 40–50 minutes of decompression, sitting alone in the middle of the ground 2.8 km from her nearest neighbour, the Buninyong, and rarely visited. She suits technical divers who like machinery and structure and who have exhausted the western barge group; the swim-through between the stern boilers is the memory most take away.

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 amidships. Head aft to the boilers at the stern and swim through between them, note the vertical engine exhausts, then run forward along the surviving timber decking and heavy deck gear to the large anchor at the bow. One lap of the 48 m hull fits 20 minutes; ascend the shot with 40–50 minutes of decompression.

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.

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.