Image of Dave Harasti, UW photographer extraordinaire diving on rebreather in Brisbane, 2005

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The Wrecks of Sydney: SS Royal Shepherd

Sitting at a depth of 27-30m just inside the South Head of Sydney Harbour, the SS Royal Shepherd is an interesting and accessible wreck for Sydney divers.  With depths within the recreational diving range, the Royal Shepherd is a popular diving spot, and regularly used for advanced and wreck diving courses.

Sunk due to a collision in 1890, the Royal Shepherd spent its working life first as a passenger and cargo carrier, before ending its career as a collier working between Sydney Harbour and the Illawarra coal fields (like so many other Sydney wrecks).

Today the Royal Shepherd sits on sand, and is basically upright.  It is an easy wreck to navigate, with its main features being the prop, the engine and boiler, and the drive shaft that runs between them.  Like many wrecks, the boiler is one of the most resilient features, and this one is a little unusual in that it is a square design (most are round).  Just north of the boiler is the flywheel which towers over all the other wreckage, and then the drive shaft.  Around 20m away is the prop.

Apart from that, there is some hull plating and a few other small pieces of wreckage.

Somewhat sheltered from southerly sea conditions, the Royal Shepherd is a good introductory wreck dive (as long as you have the qualification to dive to 30m or are under training).