Wilsons Promontory National Park, Vic

7/11/2018

Tidal River Camp Ground

Campsite 319 on 31st Avenue near the Hill Block Amenities:
Our tent 'Rex' is an absolute beast, withstanding two consecutive days and nights being pummelled by 70 kph winds, inconsistent and heavy rain and scatterings of hail. Our nights were sleepless as we laid awake watching 'Rex' literally sway, collapse and retract, as wind howled around us, but we "wouldn't be dead for quids" and had an amazing few days in this pristine rugged windswept paradise.

George Bass sailed past the Promontory in 1798 and presumed upon spotting the mountainous peaks, he was passing an island. It was not until later in the year when he returned with Matthew Flinders he realised what he had thought was an island was actually a promontory, a mass of protruding land connected to the mainland. Although originally named, Furneaux Land by Bass, it was renamed, Wilson's Promontory after a friend of Matthew Flinders, Thomas Wilson, a London based merchant who traded with the new colony of New South Wales. During this time the Nautilus a sealing vessel moved in on the area, it is believed culling over 9,000 seals for their fur. After this expedition the seal industry took off in the region going strong between 1800 and 1830, when declining and unsustainable seal numbers saw the demise of the industry. The whaling industry also went gangbusters in the region in the early 1800's lasting up until 1847 when again declining numbers ground the industry to a halt. By the mid 1800's Wilson's Promontory was starting to become a tourist destination for botanists and anyone keen to experience the area's rich natural beauty. Two towns were proposed for the Promontory, one called, Yanakie situated where the Promontory connects with the mainland and one called, Seaforth at Freshwater Cove. Despite the land at Seaforth being surveyed and allotments sold in 1892 neither town actually developed, although a pub was built at Seaforth that operated for many years afterwards and Yanakie has in more recent times been developed. Tin was discovered in the 1870's, but it was not until 1915 during WWI that a tin mine was constructed, operating until 1936 when the ore ran out. In 1905 Wilson's Promontory was awarded National Park status, but was closed to the public from 1941 to 1946 during WWII for use as training ground for the Australian and New Zealand armies.