Wollongong Harbour – the historic Belmore Basin with its fishing fleet, lighthouse-topped breakwater and the Flagstaff Hill fort above – is a gentle, sheltered shallow dive in the middle of the city. It is not a showpiece site, and there is limited formal documentation of it as a scuba dive, but it is used for skills practice, snorkelling and freediving training because it is protected from the ocean and easy to reach.

The breakwater rocks form the main habitat, sloping from the surface to sand at around 6–10 m. Their crevices shelter octopus, moray eels, blennies and juvenile fish, and the sand and patches of weed around the basin are worth a slow search for seahorses, flathead, stingrays and the small cryptic creatures that muck divers look for. Schools of yellowtail and bream congregate near the harbour mouth. Because the fishing co-op and boat ramp operate here, the site also collects discarded line and debris, which is both a hazard and an opportunity for clean-up dives.

What you gain in shelter you lose in visibility: after rain the basin fills with run-off and can be murky for days. On a clear winter day, however, it is an easy place to test new gear, practise skills or do a relaxed night dive without worrying about swell, and the Flagstaff Point rock platform dive is only a short walk away when the sea is calm enough to go outside. Divers must stay clear of the ramp and navigation channel and tow a float at all times.

Wollongong Harbour is at the eastern end of Crown Street/Cliff Road in central Wollongong, below Flagstaff Hill. Park along Endeavour Drive or at the harbour car parks (pay parking in busy periods). Enter from the small beach inside the basin or from the rocks at the base of the eastern breakwater, keeping well clear of the boat ramp and fishing co-op wharf where boats manoeuvre.

The harbour is protected from most swell, but a big north-easterly or easterly swell surges around the breakwater and reduces visibility. After heavy rain, stormwater drains into the basin and visibility can drop to 1–2 m for several days. Wind is rarely a problem inside the harbour.

Best conditions are after a spell of dry, calm westerly weather.

Enter from the beach, follow the base of the breakwater rocks out towards the harbour mouth at 4–8 m, then return across the sand and seagrass looking for octopus, seahorses and juveniles. Tow a float and stay out of the navigation channel.

No scheduled dives; used occasionally for training and by freediving schools; United Divers is the local shop.