Dromana Bay

Mills Beach

Portsea-Queenscliff car ferry

Mornington Beach

Sorrento back beach

Fort Nepean bunker

Cape Schank

London Bridge, Sorrento back beach

Arthur's Seat chairlift, Dromana

Cribb Point on Western Port Bay

Cheviot Beach, where Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared, presumed drowned, on 17th December 1967

Mornington Peninsula, to the south of Melbourne at the south-eastern tip of Port Phillip Bay, has long been Melbourne's summer playground. The boot-shaped promontory separating two contrasting bays - Port Phillip and Western Port - is a favourite destination for lazy beachside getaways that come with green hinterlands and wild ocean beaches on the side.

Sorrento beach

Highlights

• Mornington Peninsula National Park preserves the natural beauty of the coastal area. It includes the Ocean Beach Reserve with its surf beaches, walking tracks and shelters were built.

• Cape Schanck Lighthouse Reserve has an historic lighthouse to inspect (entry fees apply), a walking path leads to the boulder-strewn water's edge at the foot of the cliffs

• Point Nepean National Park incorporates the historic Point Nepean area, which contains many pleasant walks, great fishing sports, views across the notoriously rough Port Phillip Heads to the Bellarine Peninsula, and a century old historic fort that saw wartime action. Previously closed to the public for more than 100 years, the historic section of Point Nepean was opened to the public in 2005.

• Bay Beaches: The bay beaches of Mornington Peninsula are ideal for family bathings and picnics, as evidenced by the many families that come here from Melbourne on weekends for a day outing. On the way from Melbourne, take the chairlift at Dromana to the top of Arthurs Seat for panoramic views of Port Phillip Bay.

• Wineries & Retreats: There are so 50 wineries on the peninsula, offering cellar door tastings and sales. Many have or are near restaurants and cafes set in beautifully landscaped gardens and on terraces overlooking the vines. A wine-tasting can stretch into lunch or dinner, and then into an overnight stay. Hidden along our hinterland roads are European-style country retreats, intimate hotels, cottages and charming B&Bs. Our coastal accommodation includes beachside luxury in contemporary suites, limestone-and-lace B&Bs and heritage hotels - all with a bonus of fresh sea breezes.

• Steam Train Rides: Steam hauled services operate between Moorooduc and Mornington on the first three Sundays of every month. More ...

The Best Time To Visit

The peninsula is a Mediterranean-like coastline, not only in its looks but its climate, which makes it an all-year-round destination. Because of its position, the weather is always milder than Melbourne. If you want to escape the locals crowds, avoid weekends and public holidays, otherwise visit the peninsula at any time.

Suggested day drives

• Bayside Beaches Drive: a day trip south along the bay coast in the morning, returning along the shores of Western Port in the afternoon.
• Port Phillip Circuit: a day trip south along the bay coast in the morning, take the car and passenger ferry to Point Lonsdale and return to Melbourne in the afternoon via Geelong and the Bellaring Peninsula.
• Peninsula Circuit: a day trip south along the bay coast in the morning, returning via Flinders and Hastings on the Western Port Bay side of the peninsula. This drive takes in the Port Phillip Bay and ocean beaches, Pt. Nepean, wineries, Western Port Bay beaches and views across Western Port Bay to French Island.

Full Day Walks

• Point Nepean Trail: Walk to the tip of the peninsula with views across The Rip, the treacherous divide between the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas that has wrecked many ships. More ...
• Bushrangers Bay Trail: Walk along a Bass Strait cliff top to some of the most beautiful coastal scenery around Cape Schanck. Along the way see natural features, such as flowering banksias, rock spires and rock pools. More ...
• Dunball's Walking Tours: Half-day, full-day or two-day guided walks along ocean beaches, bay beaches and tracks with views over Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay are available. $30-$80pp. More ...
• Peninsula Walks

How to get there: drive south from Melbourne via Nepean Highway past Frankston.

Pt. Nepean

Background: Thousands of years before Europeans arrived on the Mornington Peninsula the Bunurong people (also spelt Bunwurrung, Boonwerung, Bunurowrung, Boonoorong and Bururong) lived in their territory which extended from Werribee River to Andersons Inlet in the east. The area totalled approximately 8,000 square kilometres. There were defined territorial boundaries between the different indigenous groupings, usually based on landscape features and barriers such as mountains or rivers.
Clans were broken into smaller family and economic groupings. The small groups met frequently for social or trading reasons. Their economy was largely based on the hunter gatherer lifestyle with some system of natural farming practice. The local indigenous people practiced a range of environmental management strategies including controlled burning of vegetation. Coastal waters provided shellfish and seafood, with the hinterland providing native animals and wildlife, such as possums and wallabies. Many plants and berries were also utilised for food and medicine.
There is archaeological evidence of the Bunurong's occupancy along the coast with middens at some sites. There is also some evidence of more permanent settings at places such as Tyabb and what was known as the Blacks Camp Waterhole (inland from Cape Schanck). There was a network of tracks for efficient movement across the territory for social and trading reasons.
The contact period brought about many changes to the local indigenous culture. Whalers, sealers and explorers were the first to make contact. Later the effects of pastoralists on the land brought about the destruction of essential foods and wildlife. The rapid settlement of Europeans meant the invasion of Aboriginal lands and dislocation. White colonisation resulted in many local Aborigines being forced to live on reserves such as the one in Mordialloc. Despite efforts by some individuals, the protectorate system did little to protect the Aborigines. The rapid decline of the Bunurong population was due to many factors including disease, loss of access to traditional foods and tribal lands, alcoholism, death in goal and death through poisoning and murder. While some descendants of the Bunurong people live in their ancient clan region today, the Wurrundjeri people have the responsibility of custodianship of the Bunurong sites at present.
Mornington Peninsula was the site of the first white settlement in Victoria at Sullivan Bay, Sorrento. At the beginning of the 19th century, the British government decided to establish a settlement at Port Phillip and Sullivan Bay was chosen because of its strategic location near the entrance of the Bay. The settlement is significant because it was the first attempt to settle Europeans permanently in what is now Victoria.
Collins Settlement Historic Site, Sullivan Bay, just east of Sorrento, is the place where Lieutenant Colonel David Collins, accompanied by civil officers, marines, free settlers and 229 convicts landed in October 1803. The new colonists quickly discovered that water was scarce, and suitable timber could not be found. The treacherous entrance to the bay made the site unsuitable for whaling and with few marines, the settlement was vulnerable to attack. Collins decided to abandon the settlement and move to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) in January 1804. Little evidence of the settlement exists. Four graves on the eastern headland, and parts of barrels, leg irons, bottles and other pieces are all that remain. These can be seen in the Sorrento Museum, Melbourne Road, Sorrento.

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