San Remo is a town in southern Victoria, Australia in the Gippsland region. Formed as a fishing village, its economy is now largely based on tourism. It is also notable as the town on the mainland end of the bridge to Phillip Island. At the 2016 census, San Remo had a population of 1212.
It is located at the western tip of the Anderson Peninsula, 122 km south-east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland Highway, near Kilcunda and opposite Newhaven on Phillip Island.
The area around what is now San Remo was used for many centuries by the Bunurong people who occupied an area of the Mornington Peninsula, of the Kulin nation. George Bass explored the coast and discovered the strait separating the mainland and Van Diemen's land, together with the bay he named Western Port.
Sealers frequented the coast and Islands in the 1820s before Europeans settled the coast.
Samuel Anderson a Scottish immigrant who in 1835 established the third permanent settlement in Victoria at Bass. Samuel had arrived in Hobart aboard the "Lang" in September 1830 and was employed as bookkeeper for Van Diemens Land Co at Circular Head Tasmania. In 1835 he left the company and sailed to Westernport, it has been suggested that the sloop "Rebecca" was purchased by Samuel and his partner/s.In 1837 his soon to be partner Robert Massie also left VDL Co and joined Samuel at Westernport. The partnership of Massie and Anderson floundered in the credit squeeze of 1842 and the partnership sold by auction all their assets to repay creditors. This appears to be the end of the partnership with Massie probably relocating to Melbourne by 1844 then meeting and marrying Eliza Armstrong in 1845 then departing to Taraville.Samuels Brothers Hugh and Thomas followed him to Bass and when land was released they bought over 2000 acres centred on the Anderson area today with their homestead "Netherwood" being built on the shores of Westernport.The Anderson brothers and their descendants featured prominently in the local municipal area. An early pioneer and explorer, Anderson Inlet at Inverloch was named after Samuel Anderson. Descendants of the Anderson family remain around San Remo to this day. [2]
In 1797 George Bass, a naval surgeon and explorer, took a voyage in an open whaleboat to explore the coastline. It was later explored on foot in 1826 by William Hovell. Around 1840 a deepwater port was established at Griffiths Point in order to provide exports of wattle bark, farm produce and cattle, and then later coal starting in the 1870s. A township grew around this port, and brought in tourists. In 1888 the township was named San Remo after the resort town in Italy. The Post Office opened on 14 August 1873 and was renamed San Remo in 1888. [3]
Early in the 20th Century, commercial fishing of the King George whiting came to the area, the produce being sent to Melbourne markets via railway. Since 2006 San Remo has a tidal power test facility. Installed Nereus tidal turbines dispatch power directly to national grid . In 2008 a monument to those local professional fisherman lost at sea was erected with funds provided by local businesses and rotary. A cairn with the names of those lost at sea with a navigation light atop is a main feature. Today there is a fishing co-operative near the bridge that supplies good fresh fish, particularly the King George whiting for which the area is known.
Kustom Nats in January. The San Remo Channel Challenge is held in February. San Remo Fishing Festival, Blessing of the Fleet in September. Blessing of the Bikes in October.
At 12 noon daily, the San Remo fisherman's co-operative feeds the pelicans at the jetty and gives a free public talk at the pier. [4]
This article describes the history of the Australian colony and state of Victoria.
Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps. It covers an elongated area of 41,556 km2 (16,045 sq mi) located further east of the Shire of Cardinia between Dandenong Ranges and Mornington Peninsula, and is bounded to the north by the mountain ranges and plateaus/highlands of the High Country, to the southwest by the Western Port Bay, to the south and east by the Bass Strait and the Tasman Sea, and to the east and northeast by the Black-Allan Line.
Phillip Island is an Australian island about 125 km (78 mi) south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explorer and seaman George Bass, who sailed in an open whale boat, arriving from Sydney on 5 January 1798.
George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.
Tooradin is a town in Victoria, Australia, 57 km south east from the central business district of Melbourne. Its local government area is the City of Casey. At the 2016 census, Tooradin had a population of 1,568.
Western Port, commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it is dominated by two large islands; French Island and Phillip Island. At the time it was renamed, its position was west of other known ports and bays, but Western Port has become something of a misnomer as it lies just to the east of the larger Port Phillip and the city of Melbourne. It is visited by Australian fur seals, whales and dolphins, as well as many migratory waders and seabirds. It is listed under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international significance.
Inverloch is a seaside town located in Victoria, Australia. It is located 143 kilometres (89 mi) south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland Highway on the Bass Highway in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Known originally for the calm waters of Anderson Inlet, it is now also known for the discovery of Australia's first dinosaur bone.
The Ninety Mile Beach is a sandy stretch of beach on the south-eastern coastline of the East Gippsland region of Victoria in Australia. The beach faces Bass Strait and backs the Gippsland Lakes. The beach is just over 151 kilometres (94 mi) in length, running north-eastward from a spit near Port Albert to the man-made channel at Lakes Entrance.
Wonthaggi is a seaside town located 132 kilometres (82 mi) south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Known originally for its coal mining, it is now the largest town in South Gippsland, a regional area with extensive tourism, beef and dairy industries.
Port Albert is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, on the coast of Corner Inlet on the Yarram - Port Albert Road, 82 kilometres (51 mi) south-east of Morwell, 236 kilometres (147 mi) south-east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. At the 2016 census, Port Albert had a population of 293.
Kilcunda is a seaside town located 117 kilometres (73 mi) south east of Melbourne between Phillip Island and Wonthaggi near Dalyston via the South Gippsland Highway on the Bass Highway, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Known originally as a train station near Wonthaggi, it is now the location of a very popular swimming hole at the Bourne Creek Trestle Bridge and at the 2016 census, Kilcunda had a population of 396.
Bass is a small rural town 113 kilometres (70 mi) south-east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bass and the surrounding area had a population of 937.
The Bass River, a perennial river of the Western Port catchment, is located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.
The 30-ton sloop Rebecca was launched in 1834, built by Captain George Plummer at his boatyard on the banks of the Tamar River at Rosevears, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).
The electoral district of Bass is one of the electoral districts of Victoria, Australia, for the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It covers an area of 1,383 square kilometres (534 sq mi) south east of Melbourne, stretching from outer suburban Pakenham through rural areas to the coast at Inverloch and Phillip Island. It includes the towns of Bass, Cape Paterson, Corinella, Cowes, Grantville, Inverloch, Kilcunda, Koo Wee Rup, Lang Lang, Rhyll, San Remo, Ventnor, Wonthaggi, and part of suburban Pakenham. It lies within the Eastern Victoria Region of the upper house, the Legislative Council.
Cape Paterson is a cape and seaside village located near the town of Wonthaggi, 132 kilometres (82 mi) south-east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Known originally for the discovery of coal by William Hovell in 1826, it is now extremely popular for its beaches and rockpool and at the 2011 census, it had a population of 718.
Anderson Inlet, sometimes incorrectly referred to as Andersons Inlet, is a shallow and dynamic estuary in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia where the Tarwin River enters Bass Strait. It forms a 2,400-hectare (5,900-acre) almost enclosed bay next to the town of Inverloch, for which it provides a popular and protected beach. At low tide its intertidal mudflats provide important feeding habitat for migratory waders. It is also an important area for recreational fishing. It is named after Samuel Anderson pioneer explorer the first European to settle in the area.
Jack Kenneth Loney was an amateur Australian marine historian who published over one hundred books and numerous newspaper and magazine articles. He was a schoolteacher and principal until his retirement. He became interested in maritime history after preparing several general history booklets covering the Otway region of western Victoria, Australia.
Samuel Anderson (1803-1863), agriculturist and explorer, was an early settler of Tasmania and Victoria, Australia.
The Gurdies is a village located in Bass Coast Shire in Victoria, Australia.
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