The SS Galava was one of the 'sixty-milers', the steel colliers that shuttled coal between the Hunter and Lake Macquarie ports and Sydney. Built in 1906 by R. Williamson and Sons at Workington, England, she was 141.4 ft (43 m) long with a single boiler and a two-cylinder compound engine, owned by Jones Brothers Coal Company of Sydney.

In the early hours of 9 February 1927, heading south from Catherine Hill Bay with 420 tons of coal, water suddenly began pouring through hull plates in the bow. She sank so fast that no lifeboats or distress rockets could be launched; seven men died, three were missing, and five survived. Today she lies in about 51 m, 5.8 km off The Skillion, facing roughly north-east - odd, as McFadyen notes, since she was heading south.

When first dived in late 1968 or early 1969 she was reasonably intact, but most of the hull has now rusted away to leave ribs, and the two holds read as one. At the stern are the windlass and the propeller, missing two blades. The engine lies on its side, possibly after explosives were used on the wreck, with the Scotch boiler behind it and a winch nearby.

The bow is the most intact part, standing about a metre off the sand with a couple of winches and a standing bowsprit. The fish life is the reason many divers make the effort. McFadyen compares it to the SS Tuggerah off Sydney: wobbegongs on the wreck, nannygai, leatherjackets and seapike, and large schools of yellowtail, teraglin and nannygai overhead; the Marine Life Network adds jewfish.

At 51 m this is a serious decompression dive. McFadyen's example of a 15-minute bottom time on air requires about 16 minutes of stops and a total run time near 40 minutes, and he stresses at minimum a pony bottle. It is a dive for trained technical divers.

All boat dives in this area launch from the Terrigal Haven boat ramp at the southern end of Terrigal Beach, tucked behind The Skillion headland. From the Central Coast Highway follow Terrigal Drive into Terrigal, then Kurrawyba Avenue and Terrigal Esplanade to The Haven, where there is a paid car park beside the ramp; Pro Dive Central Coast's shop is a short walk away and gear is loaded on the ramp or the adjacent beach. Private boats need a ramp with good parking early on weekends as the car park fills by mid-morning in summer.

The Galava lies about 5.8 km off The Skillion and 6.6 km from the Haven ramp - roughly 15 minutes' run. McFadyen publishes the position as 33°27.5549'S 151°30.8008'E (WGS84). The middle of the wreck is open sand, making anchoring difficult; skippers usually drop a shot on the bow or stern using the sounder, which shows the wreck clearly because of the fish schools over it.

Terrigal's offshore reefs are open to the Tasman Sea and are dived only when swell is below roughly 1.5 m; a north-east sea breeze building through the afternoon in summer and strong southerlies after a front are the usual reasons trips are cancelled, so morning departures are the norm. The Haven boat ramp is sheltered by The Skillion but the run out past the headland can be lumpy in a south-easterly. Visibility is best in late summer and autumn when the East Australian Current pushes warm blue water inshore, and worst after heavy rain when Terrigal Lagoon, Wamberal Lagoon and Avoca Lagoon open and stain the inshore water.

Winter water is cooler (around 15-17 °C) but often clear. Deep wrecks also need little current: with the East Australian Current running, lines can stream out and a drifting ascent in open water becomes likely, so operators often wait for neaps or a quiet current day.

Descend the shot to the bow or stern. From the stern (windlass and propeller), swim forward along the ribs past the engine lying on its side and the Scotch boiler to the bow, which stands about 1 m off the sand with its winches and bowsprit. Turn at 10-12 minutes on air/nitrox or per trimix plan and ascend the shot, completing decompression.

Trimix strongly recommended at 51 m; decompression gas (EAN50/O2 per team standards); McFadyen notes a pony bottle is the minimum redundancy. Protected historic shipwreck.

Deep wreck charters are run on demand by Pro Dive Central Coast and Central Coast Divers (Terrigal) for suitably qualified divers, and by Terrigal Underwater Group and technical diving groups from private boats; there is no daily schedule, so book well ahead and expect minimum numbers and qualification checks.