Shortland Bluff

Shore Dive | Shore access

Shortland Bluff | © Phil Watson

Depth: 3 m (9.84 ft) to 15 m (49 ft)

Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond.

Shortland Bluff can be found at the end of Hesse Street, Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula. The town of Queenscliff was once known as Shortland Bluff.

The most prominent nearby feature is the famous Black Lighthouse which is one of only a handful in the world that are unpainted black stone. It is the only black lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere. Also known as the High Lighthouse, it is located inside the historic Fort Queenscliff which guards the entrance to Port Phillip

Shortland Bluff is a sandstone bluff rising some 15 m (49 ft) above sea level and beyond the Bluff, the sandstone extends east into the bay where, over many thousands of years, it has been sculptured by the strong tides prevalent to the Port Phillip Heads.

Provided you are experienced in currents, diving off the platform around Shortland Bluff beacon while challenging is well worth the effort.

Shortland Bluff Parking
© Google Street View

Location: Hesse Street, Queenscliff, Victoria 3225
MELWAY Ref: Page 500 J6
Beach Marker: 11B

Warning: Shortland Bluff is subject to a lot of boat and PWC traffic. Always take a dive float with a dive flag. Always go with a buddy and be extremely careful of the tidal flow.

Entry/Exit: From Queenscliff Ocean View Beach at beach marker 11B.

Ideal Conditions: Conditions are usually best with no wind or after a few days of northerlies as surface conditions remain calm. Shortland Bluff is very current prone and is best dived right on a slack water flood. The site is protected from northerly and westerly winds.

See WillyWeather (Shortlands Bluff) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

The Rip & Tides Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive within "The Rip" (aka "The Heads"). This is a dangerous stretch of water, where Bass Straight meets Port Phillip, which has claimed many ships and lives. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-the-rip before diving or snorkelling this site.

Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong 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.

 

Shortland Bluff Location Map

Latitude: 38° 16.447′ S   (38.274112° S / 38° 16′ 26.8″ S)
Longitude: 144° 39.545′ E   (144.659085° E / 144° 39′ 32.71″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-07 17:05:13 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Beach 10B, 541 m, bearing 281°, W
Queenscliff, Bellarine Peninsula.
Depth: 3 to 15 m.

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.