Tathra Wharf is one of only two large ocean wharves in NSW that are regularly dived (the other is Merimbula). The first wharf was built in 1862 and replaced in 1878 so coastal steamers could land passengers and cargo for Tathra and Bega and ship out cattle and dairy produce. It was used until road transport took over in the mid-1900s and has since been restored as a heritage structure, with a restaurant and museum in the building on the wharf.

There are two dives. The one McFadyen rates best heads north towards the point. From the entry, you descend to 3 m in a shallow valley of clean white and pink rock, reach the reef edge at 7–8 m and follow the sand edge north. For the first 10 minutes the bottom is fairly bare. Then, at a couple of large boulders with small overhangs, the site changes dramatically. The rocks are covered in sponges, sea squirts, Gabo Island soft corals, giant jelly ascidians, magnificent ascidians and literally thousands of gorgonians, from hand-sized fans to specimens as big as a small person, in yellow, pink, red and purple. McFadyen says there are more gorgonians here than anywhere he has seen outside the tropics, the best south of the Great Barrier Reef. Basket stars cling to some fans. Fish include large schools of yellowtail, many species of leatherjacket, friendly blue groper, blackfish and wrasse. The depth reaches about 15 m among more boulders and gullies.

The second dive explores the area under the wharf, where barnacle-encrusted pylons shelter juvenile fish, seahorses, morays, butterflyfish, octopus, large stingrays and groper (Merimbula Divers Lodge). If many people are fishing from the wharf, avoid that area because of lines and hooks. McFadyen calls Tathra one of the best shore dives he has done, and it suits Open Water divers who can manage the rock climb and judge the swell.

From Bega follow signs to Tathra (straight ahead rather than right to Merimbula). Entering Tathra, turn left at the police station into Wharf Road (a small 'Historic Wharf' sign), continue past the shops, turn left at the pub and then right, and follow the road to the end. Park as close to the end of the road as possible, preferably on the right.

Look over the fence to check the entry – a sloping rock at the bottom right. Step over the low wall and climb down the rock face (concrete has been added as rough steps in places), then cross to the sloping rock and sit to don fins. The climb back up is steep but short.

McFadyen warns the site is badly affected by strong north-easterly winds and can be dangerous in winds over 10–15 knots, because the swell comes straight into the entry rock; Peter Fuller's log records an aborted visit when swell was straight onshore. Westerly and southerly weather is best. Check the entry from the wharf before gearing up.

Water temperature ranges from about 12 °C in winter to 20 °C in late summer. Visibility is usually good but drops after rain when the Bega River is flooding.

Swim out 5 m and descend to 3 m, then head north-west up the shallow valley of white and pink rock to the reef edge at 7–8 m. Turn right and follow the sand edge north (note the large yellow sponge for the return). After about 10 minutes the boulders begin and the gorgonians appear; continue to about 15 m until half gas, then return.

With more than 75 bar left, detour under the wharf before heading back up the valley to the exit.

Sapphire Coast Scuba (Eden) guides Tathra Wharf; Merimbula Divers Lodge lists Tathra Wharf and Kianinny Bay shore dives; Dive Eden has used Tathra Wharf for citizen-science dives. Also popular with independent divers and photographers from Canberra and Victoria.