Kakariki was a steel interstate trader of 1,887 dwt built by Cochrane and Sons at Selby, Yorkshire, in 1926, 58 m (190 ft) long, one of a class of small steamers that carried timber, ore and general cargo around the Tasmanian and Victorian coasts. On 29 January 1937 she was inbound from Strahan on Tasmania's west coast with timber and ore when, in the fairway off Williamstown, she collided with the steamer Caradale. The Caradale struck her on the starboard side between the forecastle and the mess room and tore a hole 28 feet wide; the Kakariki sank in three minutes and five of her crew died.

The wreck lay in the main channel until 1945, when what was left after salvage was moved in pieces and dumped in deeper water off Point Gellibrand. What survives is a scatter rather than a ship. Parts of the mast, the bridge structure and the bow lie on a muddy bottom in 8–10 m in two debris fields about 80 m apart, festooned with mussels and sponges and home to the fish of the northern bay – snapper in season, flathead on the mud, leatherjackets and small wrasse in the steel.

Visibility is usually one to five metres and a reel from the anchor is the only sensible way to explore. It is dived rarely, by Williamstown and inner-Melbourne divers with their own boats, and is not on any charter schedule. The Kakariki matters more for what she represents than for what she offers underwater: she is the port of Melbourne's worst peacetime collision, a grave for five seamen and the reason a section of channel was cleared in 1945.

Divers who want a quick, unusual historic wreck fifteen minutes from the West Gate Bridge will find her worth one visit on a clear flood tide; anyone after structure and visibility should go to the Uralba or the Heads.

Boat only. Launch at Williamstown (the public ramp beside the Williamstown Sailing Club on The Strand, or Altona ramp) and run a short distance south-east into the outer anchorage off Point Gellibrand – a few minutes from Williamstown, 20 minutes from Altona; St Kilda ramp is an alternative from the east. Drive Melbourne CBD–Williamstown via the West Gate Freeway, about 25 minutes.

The wreck lies just outside the main Melbourne shipping channel and anchorage, so watch for ship movements and tugs and keep a lookout on the boat at all times. No charter runs the site; it is a private-boat dive using the Scuba Doctor GPS, with the second debris field at -37.875067, 144.871217. Gear up at the ramp.

Sheltered from swell at the top of the bay but exposed to southerly and south-westerly winds that raise a steep chop off Williamstown and stir the muddy bottom. Northerlies flatten the water. Visibility is the limiting factor – the Yarra plume and Hobsons Bay silt keep it at 1–5 m most of the year, worst after rain and on the ebb when river water spreads across the anchorage; a flood tide after a fortnight of dry weather is the best bet.

The site is beside the port's main channel and anchorage, so ship, tug and ferry wash is constant and diving is only sensible on a quiet weekday with a boat keeping watch.

Anchor on the main debris field, descend and use a reel from the anchor to search the pieces of mast, bridge structure and bow section in 8–10 m, keeping the line tight in the low visibility; then move the boat 80 m east to the second field. Forty minutes is plenty; ascend the anchor line with a flag on the boat.

No regular operator – private boats and occasional Melbourne club dives only. Dive Victoria Group and Geelong Dive Centre list it but do not schedule it.