Beacon Island Dive Trail

Meet the site

Beacon Island is the small island in the Wallabi Group where most of the Batavia survivors camped in 1629 and where most of the mutiny's murders took place; archaeologists have excavated mass graves there, and it is known as Batavia's Graveyard. Today it has a jetty and fishing shacks used seasonally by the rock lobster fleet.

Marine Life Network describes a dive trail off the jetty from 2 to 32 m, rated a great dive for fish: the passages bring in large pelagics such as Spanish mackerel, trevally and yellowtail kingfish, and bronze whaler and hammerhead sharks have been recorded, alongside coral-covered reef slopes and the Abrolhos mix of tropical and temperate reef fish. The passages can break heavily in swell.

The site is a natural complement to the nearby Batavia and Hadda wrecks and to a visit to the Wiebbe Hayes forts on West Wallabi Island. It suits Advanced Open Water divers comfortable with depth and possible current.

On a liveaboard itinerary the trail is usually dived early in the day when the tide suits, since the passages run hard mid-tide. The shallow top of the trail near the jetty makes a good safety-stop area, and the coral here shows the same tropical-temperate overlap as the rest of the Wallabi Group. Divers should respect the island itself: Beacon Island is an archaeological site of national significance, and landing is restricted. Bring a DSMB for pickup if drifting off the passage.

What you might see

Spanish mackerel, trevally, yellowtail kingfish, bronze whaler and hammerhead sharks, baldchin groper, coral trout, buffalo bream, corals

Location

Dive trail off the Beacon Island jetty in the Wallabi Group, 2-32 m, known for big pelagics in the passages; Beacon Island is the 'Batavia's Graveyard' of the 1629 massacre.