HMAS Brisbane Dive Site

Rating

5/5

Sea life

A few fishes around...

Current

No current

Visiblity

Am I dreaming?! 30m+!

Level Advanced Divers

Dive depth Normal diving depth, 10-25m

The Ex HMAS Brisbane Wreck is a world class dive site and one of the best diving spots in Australia. It is located close to Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

The HMAS Brisbane is a 115 m former Australian war ship sunk in 2005 to create an artificial Reef and dive site.

Dive site

The HMAS Brisbane lies in 28 meters of water on a sandy bottom. The main deck is about 15 meters deep. Due to very good diving conditions with good visibility and mostly no current, the Brisbane Wreck is a very easy dive site suitable for all levels of divers. For the beginners, it is a great chance to dive an easy wreck. The more experienced divers will enjoy penetration inside the HMAS Brisbane itself as large holes have been made to allow easy entry inside the shipwreck. You can explore the boiler room and the engine room if you so desire!

The HMAS Brisbane, with a length of 133m means you will need at least two dives to really explore this spot in depth!

Marine Life

The HMAS Brisbane was sunk in 2005 and the marine life is slowly colonizing the wreck. You can spot Turtles, Eagle Rays, Groupers, Octopus as well as thousands of small fishes. The coral is slowly flourishing all over the shipwreck too.

Before its sinking in 2005, HMAS Brisbane was one of three missile destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy. She was named after Brisbane of Queensland, Australia. Numerous fish, corals and other animals now inhabit the wreck.

Access:
The HMAS Brisbane wreck is located just 5 km offshore of the Sunshine coast. The best gateway to dive there is the town of Mooloolaba. You can reach the dive site in about 20 min. It is also possible to explore it from the city of Noosa. The Brisbane wreck is a protected area and you will need to dive with an authorized dive centre.

HMAS Brisbane Sinking

The HMAS Brisbane has been scuttled the 31 July 2005. It has been filled before with 200 tonnes of concrete! It took about 2,5 minutes for the ship to sink. You can watch this superb video showing the sinking:

History

The HMAS Brisbane was a missile destroyer. It has been used by the Royal Australian Navy from 1967 to 2003. The ship has served during the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and during the humanitarian mission in Darwin in 1974 after the Cyclone Tracey.

Most people are here for Wreck Diving.

You can dive HMAS Brisbane all year long. Access: from the Shore. See the map of HMAS Brisbane on the right for the exact location.

Fishes you may spot while diving HMAS Brisbane

Bannerfish
Clownfish
Eagle Ray
Grouper
Leopard Shark
Lion Fish
Nudibranch
Octopus
Turtle

... and more fishes & sea life, Bull Ray

Photos

Blue Nudibranch in Lembeh Strait
Photo by Rich Guest
Clown fishes waiting in front of their blue anemone house
Photo by Jihye Lee
Lion Fish swimming in crystal clear water
Photo by Agnes Tjandranegara
Hand Drawn Nudibranch Black Patterns On White
Photo by Jihye Lee
Anemone House Clownfishes
Photo by Rich Guest
Potato Grouper At Night
Photo by Agnes Tjandranegara
Octopus Alone On Sea Floor
Photo by Jihye Lee
Turtle Checking Us Out
Photo by Rich Guest
Octopus In Reef
Photo by Jihye Lee
Anemone Clownfish
Photo by Matthieu Billaud

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