The Belbowrie was a 37 m, 218-ton timber coastal steamer built by R. Davis at Blackwall, Woy Woy, on Brisbane Water in 1911 and powered by two two-cylinder steam engines from Mort's Dock in Balmain. She worked the NSW coastal trade for a long list of owners – J.

Weston, the Coastal Shipping Co-operative, the Coffs Harbour Co-operative Steam Ship Company, Bell and Frazer, Kirsten and Earnshaw, the Shoalhaven Steam Ship Company, A. Auland and finally Aulco Pty Ltd. On the evening of 16 January 1939 she left Balmain for Shellharbour with ten crew.

By 8.50 pm, in a strong southerly and very heavy rain, she was working down the coast when the mate saw what he took for whitecaps ahead – they were breakers on the rocks. She crashed onto the rocks at the southern end of Maroubra Beach; the engine room flooded, her back broke and waves swept right over her. Underwriters declared her a total loss (valued at £6,000) the next day.

Two anchors and lead and brass fittings were salvaged by divers in October 1972. Today there is little recognisable: iron plates and girders are scattered over the reef just off the rock platform, with occasional brass fragments among the kelp and urchin barrens. McFadyen sums it up as a wreck that will not reward the diver with much wreckage but is an interesting dive anyway.

Its interest lies in the history and in the reef itself, which holds typical Eastern Suburbs life – luderick, silver sweep, mado, blue gropers, eastern blue devils under ledges and occasional wobbegongs. The same point also claimed the much larger SS Tekapo in 1899, and the two sites can be searched on one dive. It suits experienced shore divers who can manage the long platform walk and surge, and history-minded divers ticking off Sydney's wrecks.

Park at the South Maroubra Surf Club car park off Fitzgerald Avenue, Maroubra (large, free). Walk south along the beach and out along the rock platform towards the point – a long carry, best done in cool weather. The wreckage lies just off the platform; enter from a sheltered inlet on a calm day, snorkel out and search the reef in 4–8 m.

It is usually combined with the South Maroubra reef dive and the Tekapo remains. Boat divers from Botany Bay or Long Bay anchor off the point in 8–12 m in westerly weather.

South Maroubra faces east and takes swell from the north-east round to the south-east; with any swell over about 1 m the shallow reef next to the platform surges heavily and the entry becomes dangerous. Southerly swell also wraps into the point. Dive it on a westerly with small seas, ideally at mid to high tide so the platform walk and entry are shorter.

The adjacent beach has a strong rip beside the rock pool. Summer north-easterlies roughen the water by afternoon.

Enter from the platform, snorkel 20–30 m off and descend. Sweep the reef in 4–8 m parallel to the platform looking for iron plates, girders and brass fragments, then continue to the South Maroubra reef gutters. Return to the same exit or the rocks behind the rock pool.

No regular operator – incidental to South Maroubra shore dives; Pro Dive Coogee and Abyss occasionally anchor off South Maroubra as a second dive.