New wreck to be added to dive park at Rockingham

29/12/04
The 400-tonne former trawler Saxon Ranger will become the showpiece wreck of the new West Coast Dive Park at Rockingham.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and West Coast Dive Park Steering Committee chairman Mark McGowan announced the State Government was taking part in a $350,000 plan with the City of Rockingham to purchase and sink Saxon Ranger as a dive wreck.
Mr McGowan said after further consultation with the City of Rockingham and relevant approval authorities, the 37m Saxon Ranger would join 10 existing wrecks on the floor of the 279sqkm park early in the New Year.
The creation of the dive park has followed consultation with the local community, recreational fishing peak bodies and local boating operators. Further consultation would occur on the final Saxon Ranger wreck site.
"The sinking of the Saxon Ranger builds on a south-west dive trail that is already attracting strong numbers of recreational divers from around the world to dive on wrecks like HMAS Perth in Albany, the FFV Lena in Bunbury, FFV South Tomi in Geraldton and HMAS Swan at Dunsborough," Mr McGowan said.
"While some of the wrecks in the dive park date back to 1874 (the Chalmers) it is important to add new wrecks.
"A vessel like the Saxon Ranger is ideal because it already has extensive access through three holds which will make diving around and through the vessel relatively easy."
Mr McGowan said recreational diving contributed about $520million to the Australian economy annually and $120million flowed into Western Australia.
"The demand for diving and associated services is on the rise," he said.
"Any move to create more dive wreck sites, particularly within easy reach of the metropolitan area, is going to have major benefits for areas like Rockingham in terms of growing tourism services and job opportunities."
The Saxon Ranger was built in the early 1960s at Grimsby UK as a side trawler for work in the North Atlantic.
In 1974 it was brought to Australia to help develop a southern fishery off Albany and over the years has also worked Antarctic and Tasmanian waters.
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