Mount Gambier · about 12 km from Mount Gambier
Kilsby's Sinkhole
- Max depth65 m
- CertificationOpen water / no overhead
- Water temperature≈ ~15 °Cestimated, no reports yet
Diving and fills
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What it looks like
Scuba Diving Kilsby's Sinkhole Kilsby's Sinkhole Kilsby's Sinkhole Scuba Diving Cave Diving - Kilsby's Sinkhole Mt Gambier
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Videos and posts
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Scuba Diving Kilsby's Sinkhole Kilsby's Sinkhole Kilsby's Sinkhole Scuba Diving Cave Diving - Kilsby's Sinkhole Mt Gambier
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Other people's footage, not advice: how someone else dives here says nothing about what suits your team. Dive within your training.
The dive
A limestone basin under a smaller opening than at the other sinkholes, so there is less light and less algae: visibility is 30 to more than 80 m, clearest in winter, and the water is ~15 °C all year.
1 earlier accident or incident has been reported at this cave. Read what happened ↓
Profile and sections
A limestone basin under a smaller opening than at the other sinkholes, so there is less light and less algae: visibility is 30 to more than 80 m, clearest in winter, and the water is ~15 °C all year. On sunny days beams of light come in, the shallow walls are overgrown, and divers gather on a platform at the 'viewing rock'; the floor is fragile.
The sinkhole has belonged to the Kilsby family since the late nineteenth century. From 1969 to at least 1983 the Australian Department of Defence held an exclusive lease and tested the Barra sonobuoy here; police divers then trained here for nearly forty years. In 1984 Graham Kilsby and his father dug out the access. In 1983 the CDAA's first research report was about the sinkhole.
Practical: the Kilsby family manages access itself; every dive gets a briefing, the depth zones are marked and you don't touch the floor or the objects in the water. No drones, compressors or onlookers at the dives.
- Depth and profile
- Plan for ~-65 m to the bottom (another source: just over -60 m) · open water: max -27 m in the 'Lake Zone' with a guide, no deco · CDAA Basic Cave divers only to the depth reached in their training
- Configuration
- An open sinkhole with overhanging cavern sections: every configuration. At least a full 5 mm suit.
Who can dive where
- At least Open water / no overhead
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 65 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
On the Kilsby family's farm, 525 Sisters Road in Moorak, just outside Mount Gambier. Booked only: CDAA members book a slot on the CDAA's booking page (from AUD 40 per dive, ~2 hours, max 10 divers; an access trial according to the CDAA). Recreational divers with an open-water certification go with a guide from Dive Experience (from AUD 170). A dug-out ramp, steps and a ladder lead to a pontoon.
Around Kilsby's Sinkhole
FillsNo fill station known nearby
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News
All (1)
Accidents and incidents
What happened at this cave before, with the sources. No names are given; read it as a lesson for your own planning.
- Cables and equipment in the water: in 2010 a diver died after becoming entangled in a cable at 37 m. In 1969 two inexperienced divers died.
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines. Search for more news ↗ Searched automatically, last on 11 Nov 2026.
More of the latest in Mount Gambier (Australia): conditions, closures and news →Going to Mount Gambier with your team?
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