LEEUWIN BOAT TOUR FIELD GUIDE
SS Pericles: Descend into a Century-Old Liner Turned Reef off Leeuwin
A focused guide to the SS Pericles — a 35m deep wreck dive operated from Leeuwin that exposes boilers, winches and sweeping hull lines and the marine life that now calls the liner home.
SS Pericles: Descend into a Century-Old Liner Turned Reef off Leeuwin.
Resting 35 meters beneath the waves off Cape Leeuwin, the SS Pericles is one of Western Australia’s defining deep wrecks. Built in 1908 and lost in 1910 after striking an uncharted rock, the Pericles’ boilers, winches, cargo holds and graceful hull lines remain intact enough to read the ship’s former scale while a century of marine growth has turned the structure into a thriving artificial reef carpeted with reef fish, invertebrates and visiting pelagics.
Highlights
Outing Highlights
Industrial remains: boilers, winches and sweeping hull lines
The Pericles’ engine-room hardware—large boilers and intact winch assemblies—survive as dramatic submersed sculpture, offering clear structural lines that hint at the vessel’s original profile as a luxury passenger liner.
A century-built artificial reef teeming with life
Over more than a hundred years underwater the wreck has become habitat: colonies of invertebrates and schools of reef fish congregate around hull plates while pelagic visitors patrol the surrounding water column.
A true deep-wreck experience at 35m
The Pericles sits at 35 meters depth, offering a single deep-wreck dive profile with compelling structural exploration across boilers, cargo holds and open sections of hull.
What the day feels like
What the dive feels like
The excursion unfolds as a focused deep-wreck dive: a descent through bluewater to the ship’s silhouette, a measured swim past the boilers and winches, inspection of cargo holds and hull lines, and time scanning the water and structure for schooling pelagics and perched invertebrates — all set against the slow, weathered geometry of a liner over a century underwater.
Suitability
Who it's for
Who this trip is suited to and why.
Practical planner
Details to review before reserving
Total outing time listed as 4 Hours.
Dive profile information indicates a deep-wreck dive to 35m with a single 90min (max) dive format; plan equipment and gas accordingly in line with operator guidance.
Review cancellation policies before reserving.
Frequently asked questions
Planning Your Outing
How deep is the SS Pericles wreck?
The wreck rests at approximately 35 meters below the surface.
How long is the outing?
The trip duration is listed as 4 Hours.
Who operates dives to the Pericles?
The dive operator for this outing is Swan Dive.
When was the Pericles built and when did she sink?
The ship was built in 1908 and sank in 1910 after striking an uncharted rock off Cape Leeuwin.
What will I see on the wreck?
Expect to see large boilers, winches, cargo holds and sweeping hull lines now colonized by reef fish, invertebrates and visited by schools of pelagics.