AUSTRALIAN WARSHIPS SCUTTLED AS DIVE WRECKS

Several Australian warships have been scuttled as dive wrecks in Australian waters since HMAS Swan was the first of them in 1997. The Swan was scuttled as a dive wreck in Geographe Bay off of Dunsborough, WA on 14th December 1997, making her the first Australian warship to be scuttled as a dive wreck in Australia.HMAS Swan (DE-50) had been a River Class frigate (anti-submarine) destroyer escort.The former Charles F Adams class GMD (Guided Missile Destroyer) HMAS Perth (DDG-38) became the second Australian warship to be scuttled in Western Australia (& Australia) when she was scuttled as a dive wreck near Albany on 24th November 2001.HMAS Hobart (DDG-39), another former Charles F Adams Class destroyer, was scuttled as a dive wreck in Yankalilla Bay on 5th November 2002. She was South Australia’s first (and so far only) ex-Australian warship scuttled as a dive wreck. HMAS Brisbane (DDG-41), yet another former Charles F Adams Class destroyer, was scuttled off of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on 31st July 2005 to become an artificial reef and dive site.The former FFG-7 Class frigate HMAS Canberra (FFG-02) was scuttled off Ocean Grove, Victoria on 4th October 2009. HMAS Adelaide (FFG-01), another former FFG-7 Class frigate, is planned to be scuttled 1km off of Avoca Beach near Terrigal on the NSW Central Coast in April 2010. The Adelaide was the navy ship that rescued yachtsmen Tony Bullimore & Thierry Dubois in 1997.