The SS Cities Service Boston is Bass Point's most dramatic piece of history. Built in 1921 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding at Sparrows Point, Maryland, as the SS Agwipond and renamed in 1929, she was a steam tanker about 146 m long. On 16 May 1943, sailing in convoy towards Melbourne in heavy seas, driving rain and nil visibility, she ran onto the rocks at Bass Point at about 5.45 am.

The rescue became a local legend. Soldiers of the 6th Machine Gun Battalion, stationed nearby, rigged lines and a bosun's chair and brought the entire crew ashore, but about twelve soldiers were washed into the sea during the operation and four died. The ship's crew later received the US Soldier's Medal in recognition. A memorial overlooks the site.

After the war the hull was cut up for scrap and the steel carried to the Port Kembla furnaces, so little remains. What is left – two boilers, engine pieces including part of the crankshaft, and scattered hull plating – lies in shallow water on the rock platform edge, heavily worn by the surf. This is not a wreck to explore in any structural sense; it is a historical site where the boilers and debris tell the story, surrounded by typical kelp and boulder reef with groper, drummer and leatherjackets. It is only diveable on flat days, and the combination of surge, sharp metal and the exposed location means it suits experienced shore divers who can judge conditions. The site sits beside Bushrangers Bay, so it can be viewed from the headland even when the sea is too rough.

From Sydney take the M1/Princes Motorway south past Wollongong (about 105 km, 1.5 hours), take the Shellharbour exit and follow Shellharbour Road to the Shellharbour Workers Club, then turn right onto Boollwarroo Parade into Bass Point Reserve. Park in the Bass Point Reserve car park near the toilet block and walk to the memorial plaque, which overlooks the wreck site. Entry is over the rock platform in very calm seas only.

Boat divers launch at Shellharbour Marina and run about 3 km around to the point.

The wreck lies on the exposed outer rocks of Bass Point in the surf zone, so it needs a genuinely flat sea – swell under about 0.5–1 m from any easterly direction – and preferably slack high tide. Westerly winds in late autumn and winter give the best chance. Even on calm days surge moves divers around the wreckage.

Enter from the platform in calm conditions, swim out to the boilers (the most recognisable remains), then explore the surrounding debris field of hull plates and engine parts, staying clear of the surge line. Return to the same exit.

Protected historic shipwreck under the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 – no removal or disturbance.

No regular dives; occasionally visited by Shellharbour Scuba groups and clubs on flat days.