SS Mildura
GPS: S 21° 47.007'
E 114° 10.083'
Location: Lighthouse Bay
Site depth: 4 metres
Divable conditions: Neap tide <0.5m swell
Visibilty: 5-10 metres
Vessel: Steamer
Construction: Steel
Tons: 1394 tons
Vessel length: 91 metres
Wreck event: Wrecked on reef 1907
The steamship Mildura. Lost in Lighthouse Bay near Exmouth in 1907. The SS Mildura was travelling from Cambridge Gulf to Fremantle with a cargo of cattle in June 1907 when it hit shallow reef at the top of North West Cape. The steamship was wrecked without any loss of human life however, very few of the cattle survived.
Visible from the shore, the swell regularly breaks over the two large exposed boilers that mark the site. The wreck is generally regarded as unsafe in all but the best conditions as the Mildura site is prone to strong surge and currents that can easily carry a snorkeller crashing into the many parts of the twisted iron wreckage. If attempting to visit the site it is best visited during neap tides. We managed to snorkel the site on the top of changing tide on a rare low swell day with still some degree of difficulty. The wreck sits in 4 metres of water with the rudder and propellor shaft to the north, bow facing the shore and the two boilers and engine mount in the centre of the still upright and relatively intact hull