Wareatea was a small passenger and cargo steamer of 511 tons built at Paisley, Scotland, in 1883, 51.9 m (170 ft) long with a 26 ft beam. She came to Australia for the Tasmanian trade and from about Federation until the end of the Second World War ran between Melbourne and the ports of Tasmania's north coast – Devonport, Burnie, Stanley – carrying passengers, potatoes, timber and general cargo across one of the roughest stretches of water in the country. Her 61-year career was punctuated by breakdowns and groundings, faithfully recorded in the Melbourne press, but she survived them all.

Stripped and worthless in 1945, she was scuttled in the Graveyard on 16 March that year. The wreck lies in about 48 m at the western end of the field, close to the Edward Northcote and the Euro. Published detail is limited because it is seldom visited, but divers describe a steel hull with two cargo hatches and a central superstructure still readable, the hull sides partly collapsed, and thick encrusting growth – sponges, soft corals and zoanthids – over the standing structure.

Schooling butterfly perch and bullseyes, ling in the holds and crayfish in the plating are the norm; visibility is usually 10–20 m on a settled day. At 48 m it is a normoxic-trimix dive, and with no regular charter the Wareatea is one of the western Graveyard wrecks that experienced Melbourne technical divers tick off from private boats when the weather cooperates. It suits divers who have done the Batman group and Euro and want a quieter, less-documented hull with genuine Bass Strait history.

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 amidships on the superstructure remains. Run the length of the 52 m hull once – two cargo hatches and the central superstructure are the reference points – then return along the other side, checking the hold openings for fish and crayfish. Ascend the shot at 20 minutes with 20–30 minutes of decompression.

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.

No scheduled recreational charters. Red Boats (Queenscliff) and Dive Victoria Group run technical charters to the deep Graveyard wrecks on request or a few times a season for Melbourne technical clubs; otherwise private technical boats only. Expect the wreck to see only a handful of dives a year.