Blairgowrie Pier is, by common consent among Victorian divers, the best pier dive in the state and one of the best temperate pier dives anywhere. Built by the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron and opened in 2001, then extended in 2016–18 with a marina whose construction included the community 'Operation Sponge' project to relocate and preserve the pylon growth, the structure combines a conventional pier with a steel-clad wave wall reaching halfway to the bottom and an outer L-shaped breakwater of rock mattresses. That combination creates far more surface and shelter than a timber pier, and the result is extraordinary density: sponges and ascidians in every colour on the pylons, over a hundred nudibranch species recorded, big-belly and short-head seahorses, and a cephalopod list that includes giant cuttlefish, southern calamari, bobtail squid and four octopus species – blue-ringed, keeled, Maori and southern sand.

Moonlighters, globefish, leatherjackets, stargazers, velvetfish and Tasmanian blennies live on the sand and in the wall; fiddler rays, stingarees and smooth stingrays cruise beneath; and little penguins and fur seals put in occasional appearances. In late May and June the giant spider crab aggregation moves between Rye and Blairgowrie and can carpet the bottom here. The dive is never deeper than 7 m and is confined to the strip under the pier itself – the berths, walkways and slipway are strictly off limits and dangerous because of yacht traffic – which makes navigation trivial and bottom times long; 85-minute dives are normal.

Entry is from a dedicated diver pontoon about 150 m out, a rare luxury. Visibility is the weak point, frequently only a few metres, but macro photographers regard that as irrelevant. Blairgowrie suits absolutely everyone from first-dive students to specialist nudibranch hunters, and it is the Peninsula's default night dive.

Blairgowrie Pier is on Point Nepean Road (B110) at Blairgowrie, 90 km from Melbourne via the Mornington Peninsula Freeway and Point Nepean Road. Two free car parks serve it: the lower car park on the eastern side behind the bathing boxes, and the larger upper car park off the highway west of the pier. Gear up at the car and walk about 150 m along the pier to the purpose-built diver pontoon, where a giant stride puts you in 3–4 m; exit by the pontoon ladder.

Alternatively enter from the beach on either side of the root and swim out along the pylons. Stay strictly under the pier: the marina berths, walkways and slipway are off limits to divers.

Blairgowrie's sea wall makes it the most weatherproof pier on the Peninsula – it is safely diveable in northerlies, westerlies and southerlies up to about 15 knots and easterlies to 25 knots, and southerly winds of any strength are fine because the pier faces north. Strong northerlies still drop visibility, which is often poor here in any case. Unlike the other bay piers there is a noticeable tidal current running across the pier when the tide is moving, so dive at slack water where possible and use high tide for extra depth.

Visibility is best on winter mornings and at night. Boat traffic in and out of the marina is continuous in summer.

Stride from the diver pontoon, descend to 3–4 m and work out along the pylons on the marina side of the pier to the wave wall and the rock-mattress breakwater at 5–7 m, then return under the pier along the opposite row of pylons, spending time in the sponge and ascidian growth for nudibranchs and seahorses. Finish in the shallows near the pontoon ladder; no formal stop is needed.

The Scuba Doctor (Rye) runs guided and night dives here; Bayplay, Dive Victoria, Extreme Watersport, Aquability, Diveline and most Melbourne dive shops use it weekly for training and photography courses. Independent divers dive it daily; no charter needed.