Tyre Reef lies under the northern end of the Long Bay Rifle Range on the stretch of cliff between Maroubra and Malabar that was unusable for diving until the deepwater sewage outfall opened in September 1990. McFadyen watched the recovery: within months the stunted sponges and kelp of the outfall era grew back to normal size and the site became one of his regular private-boat dives through the 1990s. The structure is two walls.

The outer wall drops from about 20 m to 24 m and runs roughly north–south, weaving in towards the shore in places, with large boulders lying off it that form overhangs and swim-throughs. Inshore of it a rocky slope rises to a second, shallower wall between 10 and 15 m with its own overhangs and cracks. The name refers to old tyres wedged in the reef, dumped from the cliff top in earlier decades.

Sponge and sea-squirt cover on both walls is very good and the kelp on the slope between them is a reliable place for weedy seadragons. The fish are the real attraction: in good visibility the water above the walls is thick with ladder-finned pomfrets in their thousands, plus yellowtail, seapike and one-spot pullers, and the caves and overhangs hold eastern blue devilfish and cuttlefish. It is a comfortable intermediate boat dive with a natural multilevel profile – deep wall first, shallow wall second – on a piece of coast that charter boats pass without stopping.

For a private boat from Botany Bay it pairs well with Yellow Rock, Rifle Range Reef or Red Flag on a two-dive morning, or with Magic Point a kilometre north.

Private boat only. From the Botany Bay ramps run out through the heads, turn left (north) and pass Little Bay and Long Bay; just after the outer northern headland of Long Bay run in close to the shore under the rifle range and anchor on the GPS mark where the sounder shows the outer wall at 20–24 m. About 4.5 km and 20 minutes from Cape Banks.

McFadyen is explicit: 'you can only dive here if you have your own boat'.

Exposed cliff-base reef with no protection from east or south swell; comfortable only in seas under about 1.5 m and westerly or light north-westerly winds. The inner wall at 10–15 m becomes surgy in any swell and good visibility is needed to see the second wall from the first. Morning dives avoid the north-easterly sea breeze.

Water quality has been good since the Malabar deepwater outfall opened in 1990; visibility is usually 10–20 m and drops after heavy rain and east-coast lows.

Descend to the deeper wall at 20–24 m and follow it north about 100 m to a large boulder formation, then move up to the shallower wall at 10–15 m and work it. Return along the base of the shallow wall at 15–17 m, then drop back to the deep wall for the last 50 m south to the anchor.

No regular charter – private boat or dive-club (St George Scuba Club) only