Milora is the biggest ship in the Graveyard: a 3,347-ton, 101 m (331 ft) steel screw steamer built at Williamstown Naval Dockyard in 1920 as the Emita, one of the Commonwealth Government Line's locally built cargo ships, renamed Milora in 1926 when she went into the coal trade. On 21 September 1934 she grounded on Rondella Reef with a broken rudder; the damage was not worth repairing and, stripped of anything of value, she was towed out and scuttled on Friday 8 March 1935. She sits on sand in 43 m, oriented north–south with the bow to the south, and stands 10–12 m high – large sections of intact hull, listing to port, are interspersed with collapsed plating.

The bow is intact, with a hatch coaming on deck and a winch on the starboard side; amidships a large piece of cabin structure or wheelhouse still stands; and at the stern the rudder, stern gland and propeller shaft survive together with hull plating, girders and two iron companionway ladders. There is penetration inside the stern for those trained and equipped. The scale is unlike anything else in Victoria short of the Canberra, and a 20-minute bottom time only allows one lap.

The trade-off is water quality. The wreck lies in the plume of the Barwon River, and the Scuba Doctor notes there is little marine growth on the steel for that reason; visibility is often 5–10 m and silty rather than the 20 m sometimes found on the eastern subs. Fish life is still good – schooling bullseyes, ling, boarfish and crayfish in the plating.

Milora is a decompression dive by any measure, but with the bow top at about 32 m it is also the friendliest of the western Graveyard wrecks and the usual first western wreck for Melbourne technical divers. Dive it after a dry spell for the best chance of clear water.

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 intact bow (top around 32 m). Follow the port side aft past the hatch coamings and winch to the standing wheelhouse/cabin section amidships, then continue to the stern to see the rudder, stern gland and the two iron companionway ladders (43 m on the sand). Return along the starboard side at deck level (36–38 m) to the shot. 20 minutes gives a full lap; decompress on the shot or a trapeze.

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. Planked around 36–38 m average depth; EAN28/EAN50 or 21/35 trimix are both common.

Red Boats (Queenscliff) and Dive Victoria Group run technical charters to the Milora several times a season; it is the most-dived of the western Graveyard wrecks because so much structure stands within 32–40 m. Otherwise private technical boats.