Middle Reef, Ricketts Point

Shore Dive | Shore access

Middle Reef, Ricketts Point
© Phil Watson

Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft) to 3 m (9.84 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

Middle Reef (aka North Arm Reef), located off Beach Road, Beaumaris, is a popular diving and snorkelling site within the 115 hectare Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary in north-eastern Port Phillip. Middle Reef faces south-west into Port Phillip, and lies between Ricketts Point Teahouse to the north, and the actual Ricketts Point, Beaumaris Life Saving and Watkins Bay to the south.

Middle Reef is a great site for beginner snorkellers and night dive enthusiasts. It's so close to the city, thus very convenient for those living in Melbourne. Great for getting back in the water, a night dive after work, or just an excuse to get wet!

Diving and Snorkelling at Middle Reef, Ricketts Point

The dive at Middle Reef is mostly shallow and is based close to, and around, the exposed intertidal reef section. Head west from the beach entry point and follow the edge of Middle Reef to its south-western tip. Head south from there exploring other reef structures. You'll reach the north-western tip of Ricketts Point. Then follow the intertidal reef edge towards shore. When it gets shallow, head back to Middle Reef.

The top of Middle Reef is usually well exposed out of the water, where you can look for fossilised worm tracks, Non-divers can stand on the end of Middle Reef to do some close viewing of those in the water.

Middle Reef Dive Site Map | © The Scuba Doctor

Middle Reef, Ricketts Point Parking
© Google Street View

Location: Beach Road, Beaumaris, Victoria 3193
MELWAY Ref: Page 86 C9

Parking: There is plenty of parking nearby, off Beach Road. Parking fees are payable at ticket vending machines.

Facilities: There is a toilet nearby and showers two hundred metres further south on Beaumaris Beach, just past the Beaumaris Life Saving Club.

Warning: Always go with a buddy and carry a dive knife. Make sure you tow a dive buoy with dive flag.

Entry/Exit: The entry is from the beach at the end of the path from the southern end of the car park. You can exit by scrambling over the reef, or retrace your dive back to the beach entry point.

Ideal Conditions: Middle Reef is best dived with offshore light northerly to south-easterly winds. Avoid diving with moderate to strong onshore southerly to north-westerly winds. Just before the high tide will give the clearest water. See WillyWeather (Ricketts Point) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary

This dive site is located within Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. There are actually a number of diving and snorkelling sites here including:

Ricketts Point Bathymetry
Source: Parks Victoria

McGregor Rock, Quiet Corner (Melway Map 85 K6)
Banksia Point (Melway Map 86 B7)
Tea House Reef North / Beaumaris Yacht Club (Melway Map 86 B8)
Tea House Reef South / Beaumaris Yacht Club (Melway Map 86 B8)
Tea House Bay (Melways 86 C9)
Middle Reef (aka North Arm Reef) (Melways Map 86 C9)
Triangle Reef, Ricketts Point (Melway Map 86 C9)
Table Rock, Ricketts Point (Melway Map 86 D10)
Sea Scouts Jetty (Melways 86 E9)

Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary is on the north-east coast of Port Phillip and is approximately 20 km from Melbourne CBD. It abuts the Bayside City Council Foreshore Reserve from Table Rock Point in Beaumaris to Quiet Corner in Black Rock. It extends from the high water mark to approximately 450 m offshore.

Aboriginal tradition indicates that the sanctuary is part of Country of Boon Wurrung people.

Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary Map | Source: Parks Victoria — Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary Management Plan, November 2005, page 67

You are not permitted to carry a spear gun while snorkelling or scuba diving in Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary.

Boon Wurrung / Bunurong country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes parts of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson's Promontory in the south-east, including the Mornington Peninsula, French Island and Phillip Island, plus Western Port. We wish to acknowledge the Boon Wurrung as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.

Middle Reef, Ricketts Point Location Map

Latitude: 37° 59.584′ S (37.993066° S / 37° 59′ 35.04″ S)
Longitude: 145° 1.796′ E (145.029941° E / 145° 1′ 47.79″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2021-03-19 08:53:10 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-19 17:20:55 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Tea House Bay, Ricketts Point, 252 m, bearing 333°, NNW
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary.
Beaumaris, Bayside, Port Phillip.
Depth: 1 to 3 m.

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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.