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. White Pine had three names and three careers.

Built at Aberdeen in 1879 as the three-masted iron barque Quathlamba, 467 tons and 51.2 m (168 ft) long, she was renowned for fast passages – Melbourne to Newcastle in under 70 hours. Sold and re-registered in 1895, she became the Hazel Craig in 1905 and traded between Australia and New Zealand under sail into the age of steam. In 1916 the Melbourne Harbour Trust bought her, stripped her rig, converted her to a coal lighter and renamed her White Pine; she was later reduced to a coal hulk, and on 14 January 1947 the tug Swiftness towed her out and she was sunk in the Graveyard.

Unusually for a sailing-ship hulk, the White Pine has boilers – very prominent ones, according to the Scuba Doctor – presumably from her lighter days or loaded as ballast, and they are what makes the wreck easy to find on a sounder and give it height. The bow is mostly intact, and the long, narrow iron hull of a fast barque can be traced along the sand between 48 and 57 m. Sponge and zoanthid growth is good at this end of the ground and the boilers shelter ling, bullseyes and crayfish.

At 48–57 m the White Pine is a normoxic-to-hypoxic trimix decision depending on the plan, with 40–50 minutes of decompression, and it lies at the far south-western edge of the field beside the Bunyip and D McLennan – a long run from Queenscliff. It is dived rarely, by technical teams working through the south-western group, and suits divers who appreciate a sailing-ship hull with the bonus of boilers to navigate by.

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 boilers, the highest point at around 48 m. Examine the boilers, then follow the hull forward to the mostly intact bow and back along the other side; 20 minutes covers the 51 m hull. Ascend the shot with 40–50 minutes of staged decompression.

Technical (decompression) dive. Trimix only (18/45 or 15/55) with EAN50 and oxygen deco; a 20 min bottom time typically needs 45–60 min of staged decompression. CCR-friendly with a bailout plan sized for the full ascent.

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), Dive Victoria Group and Bay City Charters' technical boat run deep Graveyard charters on request or a few times a season for Melbourne technical clubs (Divernet 2024 also names Chimney Rock Charters and Scubabo); otherwise private technical boats only. Expect the wreck to see only a handful of dives a year.