McGregor Rock, Quiet Corner

Shore Dive | Shore access

McGregor Rock, Quiet Corner
© Phil Watson

Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft) to 5 m (16 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

McGregor Rock (aka McGregor Reef) at Quiet Corner, Black Rock is the northern most diving and snorkelling site within Rickets Point Marine Sanctuary. It faces south-west into Port Phillip, and is a great site for beginner snorkellers and night dive enthusiasts.

Ricketts Point is a 115-hectare marine sanctuary located at Black Rock and Beaumaris, in north-eastern Port Phillip. This area is renowned for both the marine life, and also as a place to go when the wind blows diving and snorkeling out elsewhere.

North of Ricketts Point at the southern end of the sanctuary, the coast trends north-west for 2 km to Quiet Corner. It is dominated by 10 to 20 metre high, vegetated bluffs, fronted by extensive rocks and reefs. Between the bluffs and rocks are three narrow, crenulate beaches. The 100 metre long Quiet Corner beach is hemmed in between two bluffs, with a seawall and walkway along the base of the bluffs. Beach Road runs along the top of the bluffs and parallels the beach, however, vehicle access is restricted to the yacht club, where there is a large car park and picnic area. Elsewhere, parking is on Beach Road, with a climb down the bluffs via a steep set of steps required to reach Quiet Corner. Further up Beach Road is a steep sealed pathway that can take a wheelchair.

Diving and Snorkelling at McGregor Rock, Quiet Corner

McGregor Rock, Quiet Corner Cleft
© Phil Watson

The sign on the bluestone wall near the foot of the steps shows a recommended snorkelling trail. A commonly taken trail is to head south-west from Quiet Corner Beach at the bottom of the steps, and explore the western edge of McGregor Reef. Follow it around the point and then head north exploring the eastern side. Then turn around and head back, maybe out a bit deeper, and back to Quiet Corner Beach.

Waters range from very shallow around the first reef section, to about 5 metres deep around McGregor Rock Point. Fish life and alga are profuse with many species. There have been many sightings of Dolphins, Southern Eagle Rays, Zebrafish, Flathead, Leatherjacket and more here.

McGregor Rock, Quiet Corner, Black Rock | © Malcolm Burrell

McGregor Rock, Quiet Corner Dive Site Map | © The Scuba Doctor

McGregor Rock, Quiet Corner Parking
© Google Street View

Location: Corner Beach Road & Central Avenue, Black Rock, Victoria 3193
MELWAY Ref: Page 85 K6

Parking: There is roadside parking in Central Avenue, Black Rock. There is no beachside parking on Beach Road, so please be careful crossing Beach Road. Before gearing up check out the water. If you see lots of white water, head on home.

Facilities: There are no public toilets in this area.

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

Entry/Exit: Take the steps from Beach Road, about 40 metres south-east of Central Avenue, down onto Quiet Corner Beach. The sign on the bluestone wall near the foot of the steps shows a recommended snorkelling trail. The entry and exit are from the beach out from the bottom of the steps.

Ideal Conditions: The place to go when the wind blows diving and snorkelling out elsewhere. Hence its name Quiet Corner. McGregor Rock at Quiet Corner 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 (Quiet Corner) 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.

See also Beaumaris Yacht Club Webcam,
Parks Victoria: Rickett's Point Marine Sanctuary,
Park Note: Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary — December 2003,
Marine Care Rickett's Point,
Marine Care Ricketts Point Fish Identification Chart,
Snorkelling Bayside: An Introduction to Snorkelling in the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary and Nearby Waters,
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary Visitor Guide by Parks Victoria — March 2019,
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary Management Plan — November 2005,
The Urban Sanctuary. Algae and Marine Invertebrates of Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary,
iNaturalist Ricketts Point Check List,
Taxonomic Toolkit for the Marine Life of Port Phillip Bay,
How To Assess Visibility Before Heading To Snorkel Sites In Port Phillip / Western Port — by Simon Mustoe, 20 January 2022,
snorkelling-intertidal-zone.

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.

 

McGregor Rock, Quiet Corner Location Map

Latitude: 37° 58.959′ S   (37.982647° S / 37° 58′ 57.53″ S)
Longitude: 145° 1.245′ E   (145.020747° E / 145° 1′ 14.69″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2021-03-16 22:46:18 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-19 16:05:42 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Banksia Point, Ricketts Point, 518 m, bearing 136°, SE
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary.
Black Rock, Bayside, Port Phillip.
Depth: 1 to 5 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.