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Story: Diving and snorkelling

Sinking the Wellington

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Sinking the Wellington

On 13 November 2005, the former Royal New Zealand Navy frigate Wellington was sunk off Wellington’s south coast to become a diving attraction. Scuttled with low-impact explosive charges in front of thousands of onlookers along the coast, the vessel took just two minutes to sink to the sea floor.

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by Robert Schofield

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Diving and snorkelling – Underwater beauty, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9003/sinking-the-wellington (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009.