Our HeritagePt.
Nepean and the Quarantine Station Our HeritagePt.
Nepean and the Quarantine Station Our landscapes, are many and varied theyare also replete with history.
From the originalinhabitants to early European settlement, grandhotels and even a French emperor, there are many places of interest to visit.
Sorrento was the site of the first settlement in Victoria.
Early settlers cleared the land establishing familyholdings some of which survive today.
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NePeaN THe QuaraNTiNe STaTioN were the colony s first line of defence against invasion and disease and the site holdsmany buildings and sites of historical significance.
Standing at the end of the point lookingdown at the narrow channel between the Heads you can see why mariners of olddescribed their passage through the treacherouscurrents and reefs as threading the needle .
Visit the poignant pioneer cemetery and wander the trails through moonah trees to hidden coveswith views across to Queenscliff.
arTHurS SeaT has been a favourite destination for Melbournians since the 1920 s when visitors made the journey across the Bay by paddle steamerand made their way to the summit to the Gardenof the Moon and of course the view.
Arthurs Seat was named after a mountain near Edinburgh, Scotland by Lt John Murray during the first exploration of Port Phillip Bay in 1802.
Captain Matthew Flinders later climbed themountain and glowingly recorded the view fromthe summit in his journal.
Timbers from Arthur s Seat fed the fires of Melbourne, the lime kilns at Rye helpedMelbourne build and later the Peninsula orchards fed Melbournes Markets leaving behind a legacyof historic coolstores and the timber piers which stretch out into the Bay are much as they werewhen used for trade.
Within the State Park are SeawiNdS GardeNS -a delightful botanical garden just south of theArthurs Seat summit, commanding magnificentviews of Port Phillip Bay the Mornington Bellarine Peninsulas.
A popular attraction in all seasons, Seawinds Gardens offers electric BBQ s picnic facilities, sculpturesby William Ricketts, spectacular views a range of walkingtracks that lead to areas of the Park.
SorreNTo and MorNiNGToN were favoured destinations and frequent ports of call for thepaddle steamers that plied the Bay in the 19th andearly 20th centuries.
Visit Mornington and you will find THe BriarS, an historic homestead which harbours a world renowned collection of Napoleonic artefacts, while at SCHNaPPer PoiNT there is a memorial to Matthew Flinders, who first landed in the area in1802, at the earliest stage of European Settlement.
To one side of the point is FoSSil BeaCH, so named for the fossils dating back 25 millionyears which were found there as you can see, our history goes back quite a long way on thePeninsula A great source of information on local history is the Nepean Historical Sociatey Museum pictured above cnr Beach and Melbourne Roads, Sorrento Ph 5984 0255 Open Weekends and public school holiday 1.30-4.30 pm www.visitor.com.au33 History, Homestead and Buildings at the BriarsFirst settled in 1840 by Captain James Reid, The Briars is one of Mornington Peninsula s oldest properties.
This retired British Army Officer took up a 2000 hectare pastoral lease which was named Tichin-Gorourke meaning voice of frogs after the local Aboriginal name for Balcombe Creek.
In 1846 Alexander Balcombe settled here with his wife Emma and baby daughter.
Over manyyears he was able to buy freehold title to over 500hectares of the property.
By the 1860 s Alexander was a prosperous citizen and his property had anorchard, vegetable gardens and vineyard.
Friends and family often visited and he renamed hisproperty The Briars after his old family home on the South Atlantic Island of St Helena.
The single storey brick Homestead was built in aseries of stages which started in 1848 and manyof the outbuildings are still present including thelaundry, dairy, apple store and well.
On his death in 1877, ownership of The Briars and 445 hectares of land passed to his widow Emma.
Following her death, the estate remained in herdescendants possession until 1977 when her great- great-grandsons sold the remaining 225 hectaresto the Shire of Mornington.
They presented theHomestead and surrounding eight hectares oflawns, established trees and farm buildingsjointly to the Shire National Trust for the people of Victoria in memory of their mother Elizabeth Clare a Beckett.
The homestead is open from 10am-4pm whenvolunteer guides are available so call in advance ifyou would like to make this part of your visit.
The Napoleon ConnectionIn 1815 on St Helena, Balcombe senior befriendedthe exiled French Emperor and allowed him to livetemporarily in a pavilion near his house.
This friendship caused William Balcombe many problems and nearly destroyed his career.
However in appreciation, Napoleon gave thefamily some furniture and many other items whichare on display as part of the Dame Mabel BrookesNapoleonic Collection.
This is the largest collection of Napoleonic memorabilia in the Southern Hemisphere.
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