His nearest neighbours were two kilometres away

Point Lonsdale Township at the entrance to Port Phillip Point Lonsdale is a popular but relatively peaceful holiday resort located on an outcrop which forms the western head of Port Phillip Bay. 3 km east is Point Nepean (see entry on Portsea). In between is the entrance to Port Phillip where the calm waters of the bay meet the turbulent waters of Bass Strait. This stretch of water is, for good reason, known as The Rip which, with its turbulent crosscurrents and variable depths, is recognised as one of the most dangerous stretches of water on the Australian coastline. Point Lonsdale is 101 km south of Melbourne and 28 kilometres southeast of Geelong at the southeastern tip of the Bellarine Peninsula. It is a sort of twin town to Queenscliff which sits at the eastern end of Lonsdale Bay. The area was originally inhabited by the Wathawurung Aborigines. European visitation of the bay dates back to 1802 when Lieutenant Murray spent over three weeks exploring its features. He was soon followed by Matthew Flinders who mistook Port Phillip Bay for Western Port. Two French ships were also exploring the southern waters at this time and, largely to forestall French claims to any part of the continent, the first European settlement on Port Phillip Bay was established by the British in 1803, though it was abandoned the following year (see entry on Sorrento). A convict escapee from this settlement, named William Buckley, was adopted by the local Aborigines with whom he lived for 32 years. He is thought to have lived in a cave beneath Point Lonsdale lighthouse. Advertisement: Story continues below Buckley aside, Rosetta Stone American English white settlement of the peninsula was not resumed until the 1830s after the establishment of Melbourne. Point Lonsdale was named in 1837 after Captain William Lonsdale, the first police magistrate of Port Phillip. A pilot service for ships passing through The Rip was established beneath Shortland Bluff in 1838. This was the genesis of Queenscliff which emerged as a town in the early 1850s. A signal station was established at Point Lonsdale in 1854. The operator, Captain Preston, built a house there. His nearest neighbours were two kilometres away. After a stone lighthouse was constructed at Queenscliff in the 1860s, the old wooden structure it replaced was rebuilt at Point Lonsdale in 1867. It was superseded by the current structure in 1902. Little development occurred at Point Lonsdale until the first land sales proceeded in 1876. In the early 20th century, a shellprocessing works was established at the southern end of Lake Victoria, just west of Point Lonsdale. Here shellgrit was removed and processed for commercial usage in glassmaking and the poultry industry. Large deposits were found beside the Geelong Highway in 1935. The Point Lonsdale Markets are held on the second Sunday of the month from 9.00 a.m. all year round at the primary school in Bowen Rd. Things to see: Tourist Information The Queenscliff Tourist Information Centre is located at 55 Hesse St and is open daily, (03) 5258 4843. Coastline Front Beach, in Lonsdale Bay, is a fine sheltered beach for swimming and fishing while the Back Beach, on the other side of a series of large sand dunes, is ideal for surfing (it is patrolled in the holiday season). There are plenty of opportunities for walking along the beaches, clifftops and through the abundance of titree. Salmon, barracouta and mullet can be caught from the rocks at Point Lonsdale while snapper, whiting and salmon inhabit the waters off Point Lonsdale jetty.

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