Meet the site
The Container Wall is the breakwater built in the 1970s to shelter the Port Botany container terminal, when Sydney's port trade moved from Port Jackson to Botany Bay. It was made by piling concrete blocks and tors on a granite base, and below the waterline the gaps between the tors have become a myriad of caves and tunnels. The southern, bay-facing side has the largest cave systems; heading south from the anchorage and then west around the corner the tunnels grow larger, some running 20–30 m through the structure without opening to the water, with multiple entrances and exits and a few sections that require surfacing between tunnels. It is dark under the blocks and a torch is essential. The attraction is fish: huge mulloway (jewfish) up to 1.5 m shelter in the tunnels, bream and luderick grow to 75 cm because nobody can fish inside the wall, and crayfish are usually present, along with the general run of bay species. As a dive it is closer to a wreck penetration than a reef, with real dead ends that require backtracking and a large number of fishing lines hanging down the outside from anglers on top. Shore access is over the tors from the Molineaux Point car park and is genuinely dangerous – steep, sharp-edged concrete with falls of two or three metres possible – and the car park has a history of theft and vandalism, so most people come by boat and anchor 5–10 m east of the end of the wall. It is a curiosity rather than a classic, suited to experienced divers with overhead-environment sense who want to see the biggest mulloway in Sydney, and completely different from anything else in the bay.
What you might see
Mulloway (jewfish) to 1.5 m, bream and luderick to 75 cm, crayfish, yellowtail, leatherjackets, bay species
Location
1970s granite and concrete-tor breakwater at Molineaux/Bumborah Point on the northern shore of Botany Bay beside the Port Botany container terminal; a maze of caves and tunnels among the concrete blocks below the waterline.
Facilities nearby
Molineaux Point car park (insecure); no other facilities.
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
michaelmcfadyenscuba.infomichaelmcfadyenscuba.infoRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.