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Divers Den

COCHRANE ARTIFICIAL REEF (1992-2008)

Bundaberg, Queensland

Sunken vessels, aircraft and other innovative junk!

WARNING: Wrecks should not be penetrated without proper training & equipment!

NOTE: All wrecks and related artifacts older than 75 years in Australian waters are protected by the Australian Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. Nothing can be taken!

INFORMATION
The Bundaberg and District Artificial Reef Association Incorporated (BADARAI) was formed in 1987 and subsequently got approval to lay an artificial reef in the Woongarra Marine Park.

The 32 hectare (79 ac) artificial reef is just a short boat ride from Bundaberg.

Over a 16-year period, with lots of hard work by a small but dedicated BADARAI team, Cochrane Artificial Reef progressively evolved into an underwater wonderland.

Scuttled vessels, aircraft and other structures are now teeming with marine life and support over 150 species of fish including a family of huge Queensland groper.

The Cochrane Artificial Reef deployment timeline:

• October 1992 – “Ceratodus II”, a 50 metre (165’), 350-ton gravel dredge
• November 1992 – Concrete pipe forming pyramids & steel modules called “Gavins”
• December 1994 – More pyramids & Gavins
• October 1996 – Two Mohawk aircraft named “Alan” & “Brenda”
• June 1997 – 15-seater Kingair plane
• February 1998 – Several hundreds of tons of objects including concrete modules called “Eddies”
• July 1989 – The Barolin water tank & pontoons
• May 1999 – 16 metre (52’), 35-ton landing barge
• October & December 1999 – Bommies were formed from 3,500 concrete house blocks
• September 2000 – Two 24 metre (79’), 140-ton Breaksea Spit lightships
• September 2003 – Steel vessel called “Lynette”
• November 2005 – “Porteur 77”, a 40 metre (130’), 770-ton gravel barge
• August 2006 – Ex-trawler “Nirvana” and a range of other materials including 190 Eddies, 50 Gavins and 89 concrete pipes
• September 2008 – Final deployment of various items

Special thanks to Julian from Bundaberg Aqua Scuba
Copyright © 2025 Steve Sinclair

DIVE DETAILS
Scuba:                                      
Advanced Diver (Supervised Open Water Diver)
Snorkelling:
Too deep for snorkelling but freediving allowed
Access:                                     
Boat only (60 minutes)
Depth:                                      
12 – 18 metres(40-85’)
Visibility:                                
8 – 25 metres (25-100’)
Water temperature:           
20 – 29°C (68-84°F)
Seasonal:                                
No, but May & September best

OTHER GREAT DIVES WHILE IN THE AREA
Barjon Wreck, Evans Patch and MV Karma.

2026 GREAT AUSTRALIAN DIVE CHALLENGE
Dive Registration
To register this dive for validation, go to: www.50greatdives.com.
NOTE: Entrants should do this dive with one of the following preferred dive services.

DIVE SERVICES

DIVE TRAVEL SERVICES