The Goolgwai had an unusually varied career for a small ship. She was built by the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company in Ontario, Canada, as a 'Castle' class naval trawler and auxiliary minesweeper, completed on 25 August 1918 and first operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. In 1926 she became the trawler Almeria of the Boston Deep Sea Fishing and Ice Company, and in 1928 she was bought by Red Funnel Fisheries of Sydney and renamed Goolgwai.

When the Second World War broke out the Royal Australian Navy requisitioned her on 13 September 1939 and commissioned her as HMAS Goolgwai (FY94), an auxiliary minesweeper, before she returned to fishing in 1945. The ship was 38 m long overall, 7 m wide and 271 tons, driven by a coal-fired triple-expansion steam engine. In May 1955, returning to Sydney in thick fog with 400 boxes of fish, she ran onto North Point, Malabar – known locally as Boora Point, the outer eastern point of Long Bay.

Ten of the eleven crew got ashore (the ship's dog was lost but the cat was saved). The trawler sat on the platform for weeks and on 6 June 1955 heavy seas broke her into pieces and washed her off into the bay. Today very little can be identified.

Dennis Simpson's position about 150 m off the small boat ramp on the north-eastern shore of Long Bay has wreckage on it, but McFadyen notes that none of it can be positively attributed to the Goolgwai; the engine and boiler have never been found, and a propeller near the Malabar's engine may belong to either ship. The attraction is therefore as much historical as visual: a search dive through kelp-covered reef and scattered iron in the same small bay that holds the far larger MV Malabar. Fish life is typical of Long Bay – luderick, bream, yellowtail, silver sweep and blue gropers – and the shallow depth makes it easy to combine with a Malabar dive.

It suits wreck enthusiasts with patience rather than divers expecting recognisable structure.

From Anzac Parade turn into Beauchamp Road/Fishermans Road, Malabar and drive to the far end near the small boat ramp on the north-eastern side of Long Bay; park there (limited spaces, busy on weekends). Gear up at the car and enter from the rocks beside the ramp, snorkelling out about 150 m towards the position Dennis Simpson recorded (33° 58' 11" S 151° 15' 28" E) before descending in 6–10 m. The site can be combined with the Malabar wreck, whose engine is nearby.

Boat divers launching from Botany Bay or the Long Bay ramp itself anchor in the inner bay on a calm day.

Long Bay faces east, so north-east, east and big south-east swells push straight in and produce surge on the rock platform and cloudy water; plan on seas under 1 m with a westerly or light northerly. After heavy rain, stormwater drains make the bay murky for several days. The site is best on a rising or high tide, which eases the rock entry and brings cleaner water.

Summer north-east sea breezes chop up the bay by mid-afternoon, so morning dives are best. Winter westerlies give the calmest, clearest days.

Enter by the ramp, snorkel out about 150 m along the north-eastern shore and descend in 6–10 m. Search the scattered plates and fittings around the mark, then head south-west across the inlet towards the Malabar engine where a propeller of uncertain origin lies. Return along the shoreline reef at 5–6 m to the ramp.

No regular operator – usually visited incidentally by shore divers and St George Scuba Club members diving the MV Malabar; Sydney Dive Academy (Matraville) and Abyss run occasional Malabar shore dives.