Warrnambool Breakwater Inside

Meet the site

The Warrnambool breakwater was built in the 1880s to make a harbour of Lady Bay – the Edinburgh Castle, wrecked nearby in 1888, was carrying the cement for it – and its northern face is the town's easiest and most-dived site. The concrete and rock wall runs seaward from the point beside the Lady Bay boat ramp, and along its base in 3–9 m the kelp growth on the structure shelters an unusual concentration of small life. The Scuba Doctor lists seahorses (big-belly seahorses are regular), several species of leatherjacket, sea stars, boxfish, sea sweep, wrasse, gobies and blennies along the wall, with stingrays, flathead, flounder, pipefish and goatfish on the sand further out. Beyond the end of the wall the natural reef begins, with swim-throughs, kelp forests, fish and crayfish, and the reefs of the Old Aquarium and the Merri Marine Sanctuary lie a few hundred metres further on for those who continue on a calm day.

It is a beginner's dive in the best sense: a wall to follow out and back, a sand beach entry and exit, depth that rarely exceeds 9 m and a car park a minute away with toilets and a cafe. It is also the town's night dive, when the seahorses and cuttlefish are easiest to find, and the fallback when the exposed sanctuary sites are unworkable. The hazards are prosaic – boat traffic from the ramp 40 m to the south, which demands a dive float and flag, and surge that runs along the wall when swell wraps around the end – and visibility swings with the sand movement. Warrnambool divers use it constantly for training, check-out dives and quiet evenings, and visiting divers should treat it as the first dive of any stay: an hour here shows what the water is doing before committing to Stingray Bay, Thunder Point or the La Bella outside.

What you might see

Big-belly seahorses, leatherjackets (several species), boxfish, sea stars, sea sweep, wrasse, gobies and blennies, stingrays, flathead, flounder, pipefish, goatfish, cuttlefish, crayfish beyond the wall, kelp

Location

Sheltered northern (harbour) side of the Warrnambool breakwater at the western end of Lady Bay, beside the boat ramp, in 3–9 m.

Facilities nearby

Large car parks off Viaduct Road and at the breakwater; toilets and showers at the breakwater and Stingray Bay; Warrnambool Diving (179A Fairy Street) for air fills, gear and guided dives; Pavilion cafe at the breakwater; Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum nearby.