The Victorian Ships' Graveyard was the official dumping ground for Melbourne's unwanted hulls: an unregulated 'outer Heads' area used from about 1900, and from 1932 the proclaimed Commonwealth Area No. 3, a 6 km circle about 10 km south-west of Barwon Heads in 40–60 m. More than 46 vessels were stripped, towed out through The Rip and sunk with gelignite between 1913 and 1971, and all are protected historic shipwrecks. Werfa was an iron steam collier of 862 tons, 65.8 m (216 ft) long, built by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Co at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1883 for the Werfa Steamship Company of Cardiff and the Welsh coal trade.

She came out to Fremantle in 1898, was bought in 1899 by the Bellambi Coal Company for the Newcastle–Sydney coal run, and was later acquired by McIlwraith, McEacharn of Melbourne, who converted her to a coal hulk in 1914. Her afterlife had one notable incident: on 5 August 1925 the visiting American destroyer USS MacDonough struck and sank her in Victoria Dock. Raised, she lingered until 20 March 1929, when the tug Minah towed her out to Bass Strait and she was scuttled.

The wreck lies in 62–65 m in the deep eastern part of the Graveyard, a few hundred metres from the Leeuwin and Hygeia. The Scuba Doctor records many swim-throughs on the collapsed hull, a stern with distinctive iron rectangles of framing, and a rudder that is fully intact – a rare survival on a scuttled hulk. As on the neighbouring deep wrecks, deep-water sponges and sea whips grow on the iron, and ling, boarfish and big crayfish are the resident fauna; visibility on the days calm enough to dive is often 15–25 m.

Werfa is part of the 60 m-plus eastern set – Malaita, Hygeia, Leeuwin, Werfa, John Nimmo – that constitutes the hardest tier of Victorian Graveyard diving: hypoxic trimix or rebreather, an hour or more of decompression in or beside the shipping approach, and a boat prepared to stand by. It is dived rarely, by experienced Melbourne technical teams, and suits divers who have progressed through the 45–55 m wrecks and want swim-throughs and an intact stern at depth.

Boat only. Charters leave from Queenscliff Harbour (Red Boats, Dive Victoria Group) or Portsea Pier (Dive Victoria Group, Bayplay); drive Melbourne–Queenscliff via the Geelong Ring Road and Bellarine Highway (about 1 h 40 min) or Melbourne–Portsea down the Mornington Peninsula Freeway (about 1 h 45 min). Private boats launch at Queenscliff (Larkin Parade) or Sorrento ramps; the wreck lies a few kilometres outside The Rip, so time the run through the Heads for slack or a following tide.

Boat time from Queenscliff is roughly 20–30 minutes and from Portsea 30–40 minutes in a fast RIB, longer in a displacement charter boat. Gear is loaded at the harbour; there is parking at Queenscliff Harbour and along Point Nepean Road at Portsea.

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 stern to see the intact rudder and the distinctive iron rectangles of the stern framing, then work forward through the swim-throughs in the collapsed hull for 15–18 minutes before returning to the shot for 60 minutes or more of staged decompression under a support boat.

Technical (decompression) dive. Hypoxic or near-hypoxic trimix (e.g. 15/55 or 12/60) with EAN50 and oxygen; 15–20 min bottom time means 60–90 min of decompression. Rebreather divers dominate here; open-circuit needs multiple stages and a support boat with in-water support.

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 operator. Visited only by Melbourne technical/rebreather teams and Southern Ocean Exploration from private boats, typically once or twice a year at most.