Rick Mills Reef is one of three artificial reefs placed off Lee Point by the NT Government to create fish habitat close to Darwin's northern suburbs. According to the NT Government reef list it is built from assorted plant equipment, about 1,500 tonnes of concrete culverts and five shipping containers, deployed in around 15 m of water. Local fishermen later added the 15 m steel yacht Van Bruggen close by in 2008, which is now a dive in its own right.

The reef is a broad, low field of heavy material rather than a single tall structure. Box culverts are stacked and scattered in piles, creating tunnels and ledges, while the containers and old machinery form larger blocks that fish use as shelter. After years on the bottom the concrete and steel carry encrusting sponges, hydroids, oysters, small soft corals and algae.

Fish life is the attraction. Golden snapper and fingermark hang around the culverts, black jewfish and estuary cod occupy the bigger voids, and schools of baitfish attract trevally, queenfish and the occasional Spanish mackerel. Along the sand and mud edges look for rays, flathead and shovelnose rays. In poor visibility the fish often appear suddenly at arm's length.

Visibility is the main limitation: this is a shallow site near a muddy coastline, and even on a good neap it rarely exceeds 8 m. The shallow depth, however, gives long bottom times, and the reef is close enough to the Buffalo Creek ramp for a short, low-cost boat trip. It suits Darwin-based divers with a boat who want a quick local dive, and it is a good training ground for low-visibility navigation. Pair it with the Van Bruggen or with the Truck Tipper reef to the east.

The Lee Point reefs lie a few kilometres offshore from Lee Point on Darwin's northern suburbs coast, at the western entrance to Shoal Bay. The nearest launch is the Buffalo Creek boat ramp off Lee Point Road (about 20 minutes' drive from the CBD; trailer parking beside the ramp), which is tidal and can be unusable near low water on big tides – check the tide chart before towing out. From the creek mouth it is a short run north-west to the reefs; boats from Cullen Bay or the harbour ramps come around East Point and up the coast past Nightcliff and Casuarina.

There are no moorings; find the reef on GPS and sounder and drop a shot or grapnel on the structure.

The Lee Point reefs are shallow and close to shore, so they are strongly affected by tide and run-off from Buffalo Creek and Shoal Bay. Dive only on neap tides at slack water – on springs the 6–7 m range drives strong currents and stirs up silt, dropping visibility to near zero. Best in the dry season (May–October) on calm mornings before the south-east trade wind builds; a south-easterly is partly offshore here, but anything over 15 knots makes anchoring on the reef difficult.

In the wet season (December–April) north-westerly monsoon winds make the coast rough, run-off turns the water brown, cyclones are possible and box jellyfish are present.

Descend the shot onto the reef and hold 12–15 m. Work the culvert piles and plant equipment in a slow circuit, checking the containers and machinery for cod and jewfish. Stay close to structure in poor visibility and avoid kicking up the silt floor.

Experienced divers can navigate to the nearby Van Bruggen steel yacht (a separate short dive). Ascend the shot at the end of slack.

No regular dive operator. Visited occasionally by Darwin Sub Aqua Club members and by private boats; Darwin operators such as Dive Darwin may run a trip on request. The reefs are primarily used by recreational anglers.