Flinders Pier

Pier Dive | Shore access

Flinders Pier is the Weedy Seadragon Capital of the World!

Flinders Pier
© Unknown

Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft) to 6 m (20 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

Flinders Pier (aka Flinders Jetty) is located near the township of Flinders between West Head (to the south-east) and Shoreham (to the north-east), just inside Western Port near the point where Western Port meets Bass Strait. Flinders Pier runs 330 metres out from the shore on the south-eastern side of the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria facing in an easterly direction into Kennon Cove, Western Port.

Flinders Pier - an underwater discovery | Source: Parks Victoria

Along with Blairgowrie Pier, Flinders Pier would be one of the most popular shore dives in the state of Victoria with divers and snorkellers. It's famous for the resident population of Weedy Seadragons.

Weedy Seadragon, Flinders Pier
© Sam Glenn Smith

Weedy Seadragon, Flinders Pier
© Sam Glenn Smith

Weedy Sea Dragon (Fizzy), Flinders Pier
© Sam Glenn Smith

The Scuba Doctor hosted the BBC Natural History Film Unit while it spent three weeks at Flinders Pier in January 2016 to get footage of Weedy Seadragons for Episode 5, Green Seas, of the BBC Blue Planet II documentary series. There are dozens of Weedy Seadragons here, and during the right season, you might see the males carrying eggs around.

It's not uncommon to encounter Australian Fur Seals at Flinders Pier. They like to play with you by swimming straight at you, which is spooky in low viz. There are also large Smooth Stingrays that circle the pier. Leafy Seadragons have been spotted here by a couple of people (and photographed) but this is a very rare find.

Giant Australian Cuttlefish, Flinders Pier
© Sam Glenn Smith

Cowfish, Flinders Pier
© Sam Glenn Smith

Leatherjacket, Flinders Pier
© Sam Glenn Smith

Many species of marine life can be found under Flinders Pier, not just the Weedy Seadragons. You will often find Giant Australian Cuttlefish, large Smooth Stingrays and Southern Eagle Rays, crabs and plenty of other little fish and critters. You'll also see a Southern Fiddler Ray (aka Banjo Shark) or two. Visibility is generally quite good and can make for some excellent underwater photography opportunities.

"Into the Dragon's Lair", a short video featuring the Weedy Seadragons of Flinders Pier by Sheree Marris author of Melbourne Down Under.

The marine environment at Flinders Pier is quite a bit different to the other piers on the Mornington Peninsula. It has a grass bottom with plenty of colours, sponges, and life on the pylons too, which is a bit of a change to the sandy bottom of the Port Phillip pier dives. This is why is such a perfect home for the Weedy's and why they are everywhere here!

Finders Pier Dive | Credit: David Bryant, Seapics

Diving and Snorkelling at Flinders Pier

Flinders Pier Dive Site Map | © The Scuba Doctor

See also, Flinders Jetty in "Shore Dives of Victoria" by Ian Lewis, 3rd edition pages 130–131.

Flinders Pier Parking
© Google Street View

Location: The Esplanade, Flinders, Victoria 3929
MELWAY Ref: Page 262 B9

Parking: The Flinders Foreshore features a large car park just to the south of Flinders Pier. The are public toilets and picnic areas near the car park.

Safety First: As usual on pier dives there will be fishermen so make sure you have a knife handy for any snags or a tangled squid jig or two. A dive flag is also a must so others know you're there. There is often a few boats around so be careful of those and be mindful when surfacing.

Entry/Exit: It's a 330 metre long pier with many ladders and step platforms to allow for easy entry/exit points. Entry is easiest from the lower landing, which at high tide can be often covered by water. You can also come head out from the shore. Exit can be either from the shore or the same as the entry, which again at high tide is covered and makes it easy to get up. You can avoid ladders and swim right onto it and stand right up!

Ideal Conditions: Flinders Pier is the perfect alternative when Port Phillip is blown up with strong northerlies as it's protected from these winds. Best with light to moderate offshore north-westerly to south westerly winds. No good if there are strong north-easterly to south-easterly winds. If the ocean is rough, there most likely will be surges and poor viz. High tide is better for scuba diving as the tide movement is typically 1.5 metres and high tide means clearer ocean waters. Some snorkellers prefer a low tide as it puts them closer to the critters when they are on the surface. Best dived at slack water, or on an incoming Western Port tide. The viz will be best when there has been no recent rain.

See WillyWeather (Flinders Pier) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Facilities: There are public toilet facilities at Flinders Pier and a cafe is up the road. Nearby Bass Park offers barbeques, walking trails, and a playground. However, there's no dive shop in the immediate area, so if you're planning a double dive make sure you have adequate air before you head there. The Scuba Doctor dive shop in Rye is a scenic, half-hour drive from Flinders Pier. Still close enough if you've forgotten a fin or weight belt, or want an extended interval and an air fill!

The Western Port, Finders Boat Ramp lies on the southern side of Flinders Pier. It's used by dive boats heading out to dive the areas between West Head and Cape Schanck, and north around the corner to dive the reefs off the southern back beaches in Bass Strait. Some also head over to dive the western and south-western areas off Phillip Island in Western Port and Bass Strait.

More information...

Flinders Map | © Parks Victoria

Spearfishing is illegal within 30 metres of any pier or jetty and in Marine National Parks. See Spearfishing Laws.

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.

 

Flinders Pier Location Map

Latitude: 38° 28.534′ S   (38.475562° S / 38° 28′ 32.02″ S)
Longitude: 145° 1.624′ E   (145.027069° E / 145° 1′ 37.45″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-23 07:47:55 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Mushroom Reef, 1,137 m, bearing 233°, SW
Flinders, Mornington Peninsula, Western Port.
Depth: 1 to 6 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.