CROMWELL SUBMERGED BRIDGE WRECK DIVE

Cromwell bridge and Clutha River before flooding now completely submerged

The original town of Cromwell was demolished for the purpose of making a hydro electric dam, forming Lake Dunstan, now 26.4 square kilometers in size. Lucky for divers the town´s original historic steel girder bridge (1864) supported by stone pillars and spanning over the original river bed was left standing.
The site is located at the junction of the Clutha and the Kawarau rivers.

The town Cromwell was founded 1863 after gold miners announced the discovery of a phenomenally rich goldfield just downstream from the junction of the rivers. After the gold rush Cromwell became known as a farming and fruit growing centre and is now known as the "Fruit bowl of the South".

When the Clyde Dam was completed in 1992, the valley behind it was flooded to create Lake Dunstan. As a result, the original site of Cromwell's historic business district at the junction of the Kawarau and Clutha Rivers now lies at the bottom of the lake.

The top of the bridge now lies 10 metres below the surface and maximum depth to the bottom of the riverbed is about 40 metres.

Visibility: 4 - 15 metres
Temperature: 8 - 18 °C