The sinking of the de-commissioned Australian warship, the HMAS Canberra, will add enormously to the reputation of the Great Ocean Road region as a Mecca for divers.

“You already have the situation where this area is rich in sea life, probably the richest in Australia and certainly far more than the Great Barrier Reef, ” says local dive operator Jason Salter.

“That’s because you have the waters of the Pacific mixing with those of the Southern Ocean so you get both warm water species and cold water species.

“The sinking of the Canberra to create a reef is going to make the diving experience even more fantastic.

“The amount of work that is going into preparing her is the best we’ve ever had.

“Safety is paramount, to the extent that the company doing the preparation, the Birdon Group, have taken the sharp edges off in the places where they have had to cut steel.

“So divers won’t accidently rip their wetsuits.

“Additionally, Birton have left in a lot of the working parts, so it will really feel like you’re diving inside a ship, not just a big shed.”

Salter says even when the air temperature is at its coldest, diving still goes on along the Great Ocean Road.

“In many ways it’s probably the best time,” he said.

“The conditions are a bit calmer, the water’s nice and clear.”

When it meets its watery grave, HMAS Canberra will be far from the only wreck along the coastline.

“There are many, many wrecks,” Salter says.

“Some were scuttled, some were sunk in tragic circumstances. They are all great for diving.”

One wreck Salter has been taking customers to on a regular basis is that of the old Port Phillip Bay steamer, the Ozone.

“It’s one of the easier places to get to,” he says.

The Ozone was probably always going to end up a wreck.

Even on her first trip in 1886 out of Port Melbourne, the paddle steamer seemed to have a touch of the Titanics about her, crashing into the Queenscliff Pier and damaging part of the paddle box.

After that inauspicious start, she managed to survive for another 39 years, plying the waters of Port Phillip, bringing thousands of holiday makers, party-goers and day trippers to The Bellarine Peninsula and earning the nickname of “the greyhound of the bay” for her speed.

In fact, one hotelier was so impressed with the 260 foot long boat capable of holding up to 800 merry-makers, he re-named his hotel in honour of her.

The building is still there, yet another fine example of Victorian architecture in Queenscliff.

But eventually the changing times caught up with Ozone, the boat. A down turn in trade in 1917, no doubt caused in part by the First World War, forced her owners to withdraw her from service.

Then came the ultimate indignity. In 1925, this grand old vessel was sold to a ship breaker who stripped her of all her fittings.

What was left was towed to Indented Head and sunk in Half Moon Bay to form a breakwater.

Today, the skeleton of the Ozone makes a regular appearance at low tide and is also part of the attraction of a visit to the long foreshore.

Add the HMAS Canberra to the Ozone and all the other boats, and that rich array of sea life, and it’s easy to see why so many people come from all over the world to go diving along the Great Ocean Road.

“I would say that for breadth of diving opportunities, the Great Ocean Road is one of the best places in Australia,” says Salter.