Golden Bommies is the deep showpiece of the Governor Island Marine Reserve and is regularly ranked among the best temperate dives in Australia. The site has three parts: a main reef section that slopes from about 26 m down to the sand at 36-39 m, and two separate granite bommies standing roughly 10 m proud of the sand to the north. The bommie tops sit at around 26 m, so there is no shallow section to retreat to and the whole dive is conducted in the high-20s to high-30s.

The name comes from the carpet of yellow zoanthids that covers the bommie walls. Among them grow dense stands of sea whips, many decorated with jewel anemones, plus sponges in red, orange and purple, basket stars and small gorgonians. Michael McFadyen describes schools of seapike, bastard trumpeter, banded morwong and butterfly perch so thick that they almost hid the bommie itself, and long-snouted boarfish, cuttlefish, sea spiders and nudibranchs are regular finds. Because the reserve has been no-take since 1991, southern rock lobster are large and relatively unafraid.

The layout is simple once you know it: follow the eastern edge of the main reef north, cross a short stretch of sand to the bommies and circle them before heading back. The difficulty is depth and time rather than navigation, and in poor visibility the bommies can be missed entirely. On a clear winter day with 20 m or more of visibility the effect of the golden walls rising out of white sand is striking, and photographers often plan several dives here.

This is a dive for experienced, deep-qualified divers who are comfortable in cold water and managing a short no-decompression window. Newer divers get a better experience at Bird Rock or Muirs Rock first. With no regular dive shop in Bicheno at present, most visitors reach Golden Bommies on club trips or the annual Combined Clubs Weekend.

Bicheno is on the Tasman Highway (A3), about 2 hr 15 min (180 km) from Hobart and 2 hr (160 km) from Launceston. Boats launch from the small ramp at The Gulch (Waubs Gulch), the narrow channel between Governor Island and the town foreshore off Esplanade; there is trailer parking beside the ramp and fishing co-op. The Governor Island sites are only 2-5 minutes' run out of the Gulch.

Tasmanian boat diving is almost always done as a live-boat drop and pick-up rather than at anchor. Golden Bommies is off the north-eastern corner of the island, about a 4-minute run; the skipper drops divers on a shot line or live-drops onto the southern face of the main reef. The site is beyond comfortable shore-swimming range and should be treated as boat-only.

The Governor Island sites face east into the Tasman Sea, so easterly and north-easterly swell over about 1.5 m, or a fresh easterly/north-easterly sea breeze, makes them rough and surgy and can close the Gulch entrance. Westerly and north-westerly winds blow offshore and give the flattest seas; southerly swell wraps in and stirs the bottom, and a big southerly can drop visibility under 2 m for days. Winter (June-September) usually brings the clearest water (20-30 m) and most settled westerly weather; summer afternoons are often spoiled by the NE sea breeze, so dive mornings.

Because the bommies are deep, surface swell matters less than current and visibility; the site is usually attempted only on the flattest days with good visibility, as it is hard to find the bommies from the reef in poor water.

Descend the shot to the southern face of the main reef at about 26 m. Head north along the eastern side, cross the sand at 36-39 m to the first bommie, circle its northern end, visit the second bommie and return south over the top of the main reef, working shallower. Most divers get 15-20 minutes of no-decompression time on air; nitrox 30-32% helps.

Ascend up the reef or the shot line with a long safety stop.

Nitrox (EAN28-32) extends bottom time; plan gas carefully - many divers use a pony or twin set. Remote from a chamber, so conservative profiles are advised.

No confirmed full-time commercial dive operator in Bicheno as of 2026: the long-running Bicheno Dive Centre was reported closed (Michael McFadyen) although some tourism pages still list it - verify before travelling. Sites are dived by club boats (Tas Uni Dive Club, Tasmanian Scuba Diving Club, Leven Scuba Club), the annual Combined Clubs Weekend each June, and occasional trips from Launceston (Tasmanian Divers) and Hobart (Go Dive Tasmania) shops.