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For early Melbourne, Sorrento was the most popular holiday destination on the Mornington Peninsula. People came by paddle steamer in the 1890s and took a steam tram across the narrow neck of the peninsula to the ocean beach. Today, the Sorrento Pier is visited by many different types of recreational and commercial vessels. During the summer months, people stroll along the pier or make it their departure point for a variety of water-based activities.
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Things to Do
- Take a rod and reel and fish from the pier, or charter a boat for a day's fishing on the bay. Catch flathead, mullet, bay trout or even a squid.
- Swim with the dolphins in Port Phillip Bay - join a tour which departs from this pier in favourable weather.
- Learn to scuba dive - talk to the experts who operate from the pier and run classes for beginners and experienced divers.
- During the summer holiday period, sail for two hours on the Alma Doepel, a replica of one of the early sailing vessels which visited these shores last century.
- Board a ferry and spend the day in Queenscliff. Passenger-only ferries operate during the summer holiday period and passenger/vehicle ferries operate all the year round.
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Heritage
The Sorrento Pier was constructed in 1870 and became essential to the development of the township. Steamships brought visitors from Melbourne. From the pier a ramp provided access to a steam tram which ran to the backbeach. The steam tram was enormously popular in the early 1900's, carrying up to 20,000 people in a season. The tramway closed in 1921. As road transport became more competiitive, paddle steamer usage declined and the last steamer came to Sorrento in 1942. Collins Settlement Historic Site, Sullivan Bay, just east of Sorrento, is the place where Lieutenant Colonel David Collins, accompanied by civil officers, marines, free settlers and 229 convicts landed in October 1803. For centuries before Collins landed, Aborigines used the site on a seasonal basis for collecting shellfish. Shell middens on the cliff tops contain evidence of their activities. The new colonists quickly discovered that water was scarce, and suitable timber could not be found. The treacherous entrance to the bay made the site unsuitable for whaling and with few marines, the settlement was vulnerable to attack. Collins decided to abandon the settlement and move to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) in January 1804. Little evidence of the settlement exists. Four graves on the eastern headland, and parts of barrels, leg irons, bottles and other pieces are all that remain. These can be seen in the Information Centre off Nepean Highway. Aboriginal Traditional Owners Parks Victoria acknowledges the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Victoria - including its parks and reserves. Through their cultural traditions, Aboriginal people maintain their connection to their ancestral lands and waters.
Further information is available from Aboriginal Affairs Victoria AAV and Native Title Services Victoria
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