Western Port looking west from French Island to the Mornington Peninsula

Western Port (also known as Western Port Bay) is an inlet on the southern coast of Australia from Bass Strait and the Pacific Ocean, adjacent and to the east of Port Phillip on which is sited Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria. Western Port is listed under the Ramsar Convention on wetlands.[1] ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1067, 157 KB) Western Port, Victoria looking west from French Island, March 2005. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1067, 157 KB) Western Port, Victoria looking west from French Island, March 2005. ... Bass Strait (IPA /bæs/) is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland (Victoria in particular). ... Port Phillip seen from Frankston on the eastern shore of the bay. ... Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia, with a population of approximately 3. ... Emblems: Pink heath (floral) helmeted honeyeater (bird) Leadbeaters possum (faunal) Motto: Peace and Prosperity Slogan or Nickname: Garden State, The Place To Be, On The Move Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Government Governor Premier Const. ... The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i. ...

Recreation

Two large islands, French Island and Phillip Island dominate Western Port. The coastline, including that of the islands, is some 263 km.

Fishing, pleasure boating and yachting are some of the popular pastimes on the bay.

Phillip Island (approximately 100 km²)

• Penguin Reserve - visited at dusk to watch the penguins return to their burrows in the sand dunes
• Seal Rocks -viewed through binoculars
• Koala Conservation Centre
• Bird watching

Named after Governor Arthur Phillip, Phillip Island in Victoria (Australia) forms a natural breakwater for the shallow waters of Western Port Bay. ... Binomial name Eudyptula minor (J.R.Forster, 1781) Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) have several common names. ... Genera Callorhinus Arctocephalus Fur seals make up one of the two distinct groups of mammals called seals. Both the fur seals and the true seals are members of the Pinnipedia, which is usually regarded as a suborder of the order Carnivora but sometimes as an independent order. ... Binomial name Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss, 1817) The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae. ...

French Island (approximately 170 km²)

• Bushwalking or bird observing; bush orchid and fishing areas; horse riding, bike rides, and deep water fishing
• Koala habitat
• Camping

French Island is a national park in Victoria (Australia), 61 km southeast of Melbourne. ... Orchid re-directs here; for alternate uses see Orchid (disambiguation) Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ...

History and Development

The Bunurong Indigenous Australian people lived around Western Port living off shellfish, mutton birds and plantlife. Bunurong (also spelt Bunwurrung, Boonwerung, Bunurowrung, Boonoorong and Bururong) is the language and name of the Bunurong people, an Australian Aboriginal tribe of six clans along the coast of Victoria (Australia), Australia. ... Australian Aborigines are the indigenous peoples of Australia. ...

The first European to see the port was George Bass when he entered it in a whaleboat in January 1798 on his expedition south. Strong winds kept him there for two weeks and in fact this was the furthest point he reached on that expedition, a shortage of provisions obliged him to turn back for Port Jackson.^[1] The name "Western" port was relative to the parts of the coast known at that time (the area from Point Hicks to Cape Howe). But relative to the city of Melbourne or to Port Phillip Bay today, the Western Port lies in fact to the East. George Bass Dr George Bass, British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia (1771-1803), was born at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford Lincolnshire and was educated at Boston Grammar School. ... A modern copy of a traditional whaleboat on display at Mystic Seaport. ... 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge located on Port Jackson Port Jackson, also known as Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. ... Point Hicks, formerly called Cape Everard, is a coastal headland on the eastern coast of Victoria, Australia, located within the Croajingolong National Park. ... Cape Howe is a coastal headland in Australia, forming the border of New South Wales and Victoria. ... Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia, with a population of approximately 3. ... There is also Local Government Area called the City of Port Phillip. ...

In the early 19th century, the bay played a role in the struggle between Britain and France. Soldiers and convicts from Sydney were ordered to form a camp at Western Port to deter possible occupation by the French.

After the end of World War 2 the bay was considered for development as a port. Its flat shores north of Stony and Crib Points have become a centre for heavy industry. Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

Industry

Western Port has several industrial complexes, including a BlueScope Steel steel processing works and the major Royal Australian Navy training base, HMAS Cerberus. BlueScope Steel is a flat product steel producer with operations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Pacific and North America. ... The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. ... HMAS Cerberus is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

References

1. ^ A Voyage to Terra Australis by Matthew Flinders, available for free via Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ...

External links

• Phillip Island Guide (Community provided free service): Online bookings, enquiries, maps, calendar, accommodation, local history