Meet the site
Gull Island, also known as Bird Rock, is the small rocky islet in the calm eastern bay under Cape Woolamai, and it is Phillip Island's easiest boat dive. Scuba Doctor describes a large rocky outcrop situated in a bay normally sheltered from adverse south-westerly weather, with small crevices and overhangs carrying colourful corals, sponges and zoanthids. The rock drops to a flat sand and weed bottom at 6–8 m, and the dive is a simple circumnavigation. The interest is in the detail rather than the scale: the shaded overhangs at the base of the rock hold encrusting sponge in oranges and yellows, zoanthid mats and small colonies of soft coral, and every crevice seems to have something in it – conger eels are noted specifically, along with Port Jackson sharks in winter and spring, decorator crabs, hermit crabs and the occasional crayfish. Wrasse, leatherjackets and morwong are the resident fish, with schools of sweep off the corners and stingarees and fiddler rays on the sand. The weed beds around the rock are worth a slow look for seadragons, which occur along this coast although they are not recorded on the listing. Because of its depth and shelter, Gull Island works as a training or check-out dive, a second dive after The Pinnacles, a snorkel for non-divers in the boat, and a fallback when the ocean side of the island is unworkable. Silver gulls and shearwaters nest on and around the rock and the cape's shearwater colony is protected by Phillip Island Nature Parks, so boats should not land. It is a modest site by Victorian standards but a pleasant, unhurried one, and its dependable shelter gives it a place on any Phillip Island boat-diving itinerary.
What you might see
Conger eels, Port Jackson sharks, wrasse, leatherjackets, morwong, sweep, stingarees, encrusting sponges, zoanthids, soft corals, decorator crabs, possible weedy seadragons in adjacent weed
Location
Large rocky outcrop in the sheltered bay on the eastern (Cleeland Bight) side of Cape Woolamai, about 800 m north of Cape Woolamai Reef.
Facilities nearby
Departure from Newhaven boat ramp; No air fills on Phillip Island; nearest fills on the Mornington Peninsula (Rye/Portsea) or in Melbourne's south-east
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
scubadoctor.com.auscubadoctor.com.auRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.