The ferry from French Island brings a truck to Corinella

Corinella
Historic military outpost - one of Victoria's earliest settlements
Corinella, located 114 km south-east of Melbourne via the M1 and the Bass Highway, is an attractive fishing and holiday resort situated opposite French Island on the eastern edge of Westernport.

One of the first British settlements in what is now Victoria was established here, albeit briefly, in 1826. That year, a French vessel under Dumont d'Urville examined Westernport, arousing apprehensions about French colonisation of the southern coastline. Coupled with this was the favourable report of the Westernport district made by explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell who believed that their 1824 overland journey from NSW had terminated at Westernport. Unfortunately they were mistaken, having actually completed their trek at Port Phillip. On the basis of their comments Governor Darling decided to forestall any prospective French plans by establishing a military and agricultural settlement at Westernport. Captain Wright was dispatched with troops, 21 convicts and William Hovell. Wright established a small military settlement at the present-day site of Rhyll on the north coast of Phillip Island and called it Fort Dumaresq. However, fresh water proved a problem and the outpost was moved to Corinella which was called Settlement Point.

Meanwhile Hovell's explorations of the coastline revealed his mistake and an erroneous report claiming that Westernport was unsuitable for agriculture, owing to poor soil and lack of fresh water, coupled with the absence of any Frenchmen, led to the abandonment of the Westernport settlements in 1828. The buildings were incinerated to prevent their usage by escapee convicts. As a result of this comedy of errors, settlement of the Port Phillip district was delayed for another seven years. A memorial cairn in Jamieson St marks the site of the original settlement.

The monument to Paul Edmund de Strzelecki who passed by Westernport in 1840

Another monument, at the end of Smythe St, commemorates Paul Edmund de Strzelecki who passed by Westernport in 1840 during his overland expedition from the Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales through Omeo and Gippsland to Melbourne.

In 1907 one-metre thick deposits of guano on Pelican Island, off Corinella, were bagged and shipped to Melbourne. When a prison was established in 1915 on French Island, Corinella served as a supply port for the prison which closed in 1975. It subsequently developed as a fishing port.

Today there is a caravan park on the foreshore, a jetty, a slipway, a good boat ramp, a boat-hire service, a general store, a newsagency and a barge to French Island. The Harold Hughes Reserve has barbecues, toilets and children's play facilities.

Things to see:  

Walking Tracks
Walking tracks at Settlement Point furnish fine views of Westernport and French Island. One leads from the end of Jamieson St to The Esplanade. A 45-minute walk starts from the end of Smythe St and leads around the Point.