Tourists are flocking to Western Australia on the news of the discovery of HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran off the coast.

The man who has created the interest is a 19-year veteran in deep-sea survey, salvage, and shipwreck discovery, David Mearns, who discovered both wrecks.

Mr Mearns, a marine geologist, used his technology to discover the wreck of the Rio Grande, a German blockade runner sunk during World War II at a depth of 5762 metres - the deepest shipwreck ever found.

After several "passes" over the wreck, the team became confident they had discovered HMAS Sydney, in 2468m of water.

Local hotels and museums report increased interest in the region, primarily as a result of the discovery.
"It is amazing the interest this has generated," one museum official said.

Nearby South Australia has also been quick to capitalise on the discovery, putting out new material on its diving trips, all considerably shallower than the WA discovery where divers will never reach.

"South Australia offers divers clean, uncrowded and temperate waters, among the most biologically diverse in the world. And there are plenty of sites for both experienced divers and beginners," the state tourism office states.

"Dive with giant cuttlefish off the coast of Whyalla, Great White sharks near Port Lincoln, and the rare leafy sea dragon off Kangaroo Island and Fleurieu Peninsula."

The jewel in the SA diving crown is the Fleurieu Reef, an hour south of Adelaide, which features the scuttled ex-HMAS Hobart.

There are more than 700 shipwrecks along South Australia's coastline, many of which are open to divers and Adelaide's Underwater Heritage Trail on Gulf St Vincent links four of the most historic wrecks: the Grecian, the Zanoni, Star of Greece and Norma, all of which sank between 1841 and 1893.