Meet the site
The Links owes its name and its character to an accident. In the late 1980s the Japanese freighter Ningan Maru suffered a steering failure approaching the Heads. The pilot ordered the anchor let go to keep the ship off the rocks; once steering was recovered the chain was found to be fouled on the seabed and was cut free, leaving a great length of heavy ship's cable lying across the Lonsdale Wall. The Scuba Doctor listing describes the result: the chain 'hangs like a necklace draped over the wall and over bommies as it drops from 18 metres to 60 metres at the bottom', and after more than thirty years it is 'overgrown in beautiful sponges'.
The chain gives the site something no other section of the wall has – a fixed line from the reef top to the base. Divers follow it over the lip and down through the terraces, and each massive link has become a small reef of its own, colonised by orange and yellow sponges, zoanthids, hydroids and ascidians, with blue devils and crayfish in the shelter where the links cross rock. The wall around the chain is the standard eastern Lonsdale Wall – a reef top at 16–18 m, overhangs at each step, and a base at about 60 m – with the bommies the chain crosses adding extra structure in the 25–35 m band.
Because the chain runs all the way to 60 m it is a favourite with technical divers, who can descend and ascend along it; recreational divers should decide on a depth before leaving the reef top, because the chain makes it very easy to keep going. It is dived on both slacks and pairs naturally with Toms Cave next door. As an artefact of the Heads' shipping history it is also one of the more memorable dives on the wall.
Research this site before booking Stored site notes may be historical. These questions highlight gaps without turning old instructions into a current dive plan.
The Links is recorded as Wall in Port Phillip Heads. The listed access is boat. Confirm the actual meeting point, route and permission to visit; a map pin does not establish any of these.
Topics flagged by the stored research
These are questions prompted by the existing notes, not a verified or complete hazard assessment.
- Current and timing
- Ask how the operator assesses the current window for the actual route. Historical tide notes are not a departure instruction.
- Other water users
- Ask about vessel activity, exclusion areas and the agreed surface arrangements.
- Planned depth
- Confirm the intended route and training requirements; the recorded maximum is not a target.
- Water movement
- Ask how swell and local exposure affect the proposed entry, exit and route.
Historical access notes exist for this record, but have not been independently verified for current use. Request current directions from the operator or site manager rather than following an old entry description.
Questions, answered
Is The Links suitable for my certification?
The record lists Technical (decompression). That does not establish suitability for every route or day. Share your training, recent experience and equipment needs with the operator and ask about the specific proposed dive.
Can I book The Links through YouDive?
YouDive is an independent research directory. Contact an operator directly to confirm whether it currently runs the trip, the inclusions and the booking terms.
What you might see
Sponge-encrusted anchor chain, southern blue devil, southern rock lobster, zoanthids, hydroids, ascidians, old wife, boarfish, magpie perch, sevengill shark in deep water
Location
Eastern Lonsdale Wall inside the Heads, about 1.9 km east of Point Lonsdale and 24 m east-north-east of Toms Cave, where a ship's anchor chain drapes over the wall.
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 27 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.
