Leaving the car ahead of the entrance entitled ‘Collins Settlement 1803 – the First Official European Settlement in Victoria‘, a short stroll of only 160 m along a mostly bitumen pathway will reveal the ‘JP Fawkner Lookout’ which overlooks a beautiful cove housing a multiple of yachts and boats, as well as a jetty.
The lookout is sited at what was once know as the ‘Eastern Sister’ and the cove it overlooks as ‘Cameron’s Bight’. It signifies the location where the ships ‘Ocean’ (on the 7th October 1803) and HMS ‘Calcutta’ (on the 9th October 1803) first lay anchor upon their arrival at Port Phillip – their purpose → to build the first official European settlement on the southern coast of Australia.
John Pascoe Fawkner was amongst the convict children who arrived to settle Port Phillip in 1803, which would be abandoned within just four months. Fawkner would return some 31 years later, in the August of 1835, to stake a claim on the settlement site founded by John Batman – which would become Victoria’s capital city of Melbourne.
John Batman’s untimely death in 1839 opened the way for Fawkner to assert the title of the ‘Father of Melbourne’ . . .
The short stroll to this lookout delights in stunning views all the way with some seating provided on which to just relax and enjoy the serenity. Further information signage advises of a landscape that was once dominated by an open woodland featuring She-Oak, Moonah and Banksia – quite different to the Tea-Tree that we see today. It suggests that the use of these trees for the burning of lime during the mid to late 1800’s cleared much of the land, allowing the Tea-Tree to infiltrate.
The changing landscape, much of which is now dominated by housing, rather than vegetation . . .
Helpful Hints:
– Located some 2.4 km South-East of Sorrento – obtain Directions here
– Pets are permitted at various times during various seasons of the year
– For a list of Points of Interest regarding the ‘Collins 1803 Settlement’ – click here
– Some Car Parking available along the Service Road at the Entrance
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