Eddystone Point

Meet the site

Eddystone Point, with its granite lighthouse built in 1889, marks the north-eastern corner of the Bay of Fires. The Marine Life Network guide rates the reef around the point 6 out of 10, describing convenient 2WD access, fringing granite reef that provides shelter, and depths of 4-15 m. Crayfish, banded morwong, herring cale, kelpies, bullseyes and crabs are listed. The guide notes a current, possible park admission charges and fishing restrictions.

The area is now part of the wukalina/larapuna lands returned to Aboriginal management, so check current access arrangements. The point is dived either from the shore in exceptional calm or from small boats launched at the gulch beside the lighthouse. Treat the depths, positions and conditions given here as a starting point, and confirm them with local divers and a depth sounder before committing to a dive.

The far north-east corner of Tasmania, from Eddystone Point to Cape Portland and Swan Island, is one of the most remote stretches of the state's coast. Roads north of St Helens and around Gladstone are partly gravel, the nearest shops are at Gladstone, Derby or Bridport, and there are no dive services at all. The Marine Life Network guide, written from the experience of Launceston divers, is still the only detailed published account of most of these sites.

Where Bass Strait meets the Tasman Sea around Cape Portland and the Swan Island group, tidal streams run hard, and the guide repeatedly stresses slack water, safety lines and experienced boat handlers for the wreck sites. The Royal Hobart Hospital chamber is five hours or more away by road, so any diving here should be conservative and planned with an evacuation route in mind.

What you might see

Crayfish, banded morwong, herring cale, kelpies, bullseyes, crabs, wrasse, leatherjackets

Location

Fringing granite reef around Eddystone Point and its lighthouse at the north-eastern tip of the Bay of Fires.

Facilities nearby

Eddystone Point (larapuna, Bay of Fires/wukalina area): lighthouse reserve, campground at Deep Creek, pit toilets; no shops - Gladstone (40 km) has a store and fuel. Nearest air fills Launceston.