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Mount Gambier

The Shaft (Allendale East)

  • Max depth124 m
  • CertificationCavern
  • Water temperature≈ 14–16 °Cestimated, no reports yet
  • SpecialRopework
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Diving and fills

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The dive

Very clear water at ~15 °C. The Shaft was found in 1938 and first dived in the mid-1960s. After the 1973 accident the site closed and the CDAA was formed.

It is easy to get lost in the huge chamber: stay on a guideline. Divers with a Basic Cave rating stay within the depth of their training; beyond ~40 m trimix.
Source: Wikipedia – 1973 Mount Gambier cave diving accident ↗Source: CDAA – The Shaft ↗

1 earlier accident or incident has been reported at this cave. Read what happened ↓

Profile and sections

Very clear water at ~15 °C.

The Shaft was found in 1938 and first dived in the mid-1960s. After the 1973 accident the site closed and the CDAA was formed. The first map came in 1984, and the deepest parts were surveyed in 2002/03.

Source: CDAA – The Shaft ↗Source: CDG – Mount Gambier trip report (2012) ↗
Depth and profile
The water is ~7 m below ground. A huge chamber of ~140 × 80 m with a rock pile to ~36 m; the north-west tunnel goes to ~80 m, the east tunnel to 124 m.
Configuration
Large chamber: every configuration, but everything goes down on a rope or ladder (estimate).
Gas
Trimix from 40 m
Who can dive where
  • CaveAt least Cavern
  • Whole caveConfigurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
  • Whole caveGoes down to 124 m (trimix or deco may be needed) · doesn't decide who may dive
  • Whole caveRopework (SRT) needed
RopeworkPermission neededEntry or dive feeThrough a dive centre or guide

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.

Source: CDAA – The Shaft ↗Source: CDG – Mount Gambier trip report (2012) ↗

How to get there

A ~1 m hole in a paddock near Allendale East. The landowner requires every dive to be led by an insured CDAA Dive Supervisor (guide); book through the CDAA. You go down via an A-frame and a free-hanging ladder of ~8 m, or are lowered on a rope (the guide decides); bring a sit harness and karabiners.

Plan your route ↗

Around The Shaft (Allendale East)

FillsNo fill station known nearby
Other sites6

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.

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 5 Nov 2026.

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Sources, sharing and disclaimer

Sources

Source: CDAA – The Shaft ↗Source: CDG – Mount Gambier trip report (2012) ↗

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Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training. Compiled from web research (Oct 2026): the Cave Divers Association of Australia (site list, site pages, training and visitor permit), Parks SA, Forestry SA, Wikipedia, the heritage summary of Fossil Cave, cavediving.net.au, CDG reports (caves.org.au), Divernet (2025), the City of Mount Gambier, the Royal Adelaide Hospital, DAN and the dive shops' own websites. Pins only where Wikipedia gives coordinates; the CDAA publishes none. The certification per site is an estimate from the CDAA rating; you always need that CDAA rating as well. Check everything with the CDAA.