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Cape Woolamai, Victoria: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 38°31′34″S 145°20′13″E / 38.526°S 145.337°E / -38.526; 145.337
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[[Category:Towns in Victoria (Australia)]]
[[Category:Towns in Victoria (Australia)]]
[[Category:Headlands of Australia|Woolamai]]
[[Category:Gippsland]]
[[Category:Gippsland]]
[[Category:Headlands of Victoria (Australia)]]
[[Category:Headlands of Victoria (Australia)]]

Revision as of 14:43, 21 June 2011

Cape Woolamai
Victoria
The rocks and rockpools at Cape Woolamai Surf Beach
Population1234 (2006)[1]
Established1959
Postcode(s)3925
Location140 km (87 mi) from Melbourne
LGA(s)Bass Coast Shire
State electorate(s)Bass
Federal division(s)Flinders
Suburbs around Cape Woolamai:
Surf Beach Newhaven Newhaven
Bass Strait Cape Woolamai Western Port
Bass Strait Bass Strait Western Port

Cape Woolamai is a small town and headland at the south eastern tip of Phillip Island in Victoria, Australia. It is home to Cape Woolamai State Faunal Reserve, and the Phillip Island Airfield. Cape Woolamai contains a subdivision also called Cape Woolamai (formerly known as Woolamai Waters and Woolamai Waters West).

History

The cape was named by George Bass (but spelt "Wollamai") when he passed it on his whaleboat voyage in early 1798.[2] Wollamai is the snapper fish (Pagrus auratus) in the language of the Eora aboriginal people of Port Jackson, where the fish is found.[3] Bass, who had learnt some of the Sydney language from the Eora leader Bennelong,[4]) thought the headland resembled the head of that fish.

The area was purchased from the government in 1868 by John Cleeland, sea captain, publican and owner of the Melbourne Cup winner of 1875, 'Wollomai'. He then built Wollomai House, and ran merino sheep from New South Wales. In 1910 his son, John Blake Cleeland, noticed the sand was shifting due to erosion so he planted rows of Marram grass, still evident today.

In 1959, 230 acres (0.93 km2) of farmland was sold and subdivided into housing estates for beach shacks and holiday makers. It was then named ' Woolamai Waters and Woolamai Waters West ', and later renamed ' Cape Woolamai '. Cape Woolamai had a Post Office from 1970 to (probably) 1974 which was open only during summer. A Woolamai Post Office was open from 1911 until 1974.[5] [5] The roads were sealed in the late 1980s and beach shacks gradually turned into more substantial houses. Today Cape Woolamai has a world-renowned surf beach, Woolamai Beach Surf Life Saving Club, and a popular Safety Beach. It still contains remnant vegetation and wildlife such as an important breeding colony of the Short-tailed Shearwater or Australian Muttonbird. Volunteer groups such as the Cape Woolamai Coast Action Group conduct regular improvement and maintenance works including weed control and revegetation.

  • View form the cape looking toward San Remo/Kilcunda coast
    View form the cape looking toward San Remo/Kilcunda coast
  • View form the cape looking south
    View form the cape looking south
  • The surf club at Cape Woolamai
    The surf club at Cape Woolamai
  • The gazebo on The Esplanade
    The gazebo on The Esplanade
  • A nice, sunny day at Cape Woolamai Surf Beach
    A nice, sunny day at Cape Woolamai Surf Beach

References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Cape Woolamai (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  2. ^
  3. ^ Australian Aboriginal words in English, R. M. W. Dixon, Oxford University Press, 1990, ISBN 0-19-553099-3
  4. ^ Miriam Estensen, The Life of George Bass, Allen and Unwin, 2005, ISBN 1-74114-130-3
  5. ^ a b Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 2008-04-11 Cite error: The named reference "a" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

(38°31′34″S 145°20′13″E / 38.526°S 145.337°E / -38.526; 145.337


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