Sandy Point (Sandy Point)
Sandy Point is a township in south Gippsland, Victoria near Wilsons Promontory. At the, Sandy Point had a population of 270, growing to several thousand during the holiday period. It is surrounded by areas of significant natural heritage.
Sandy Point is one of the few coastal towns in the region to remain relatively unaffected by the housing boom along the coast. That is partly due to its distance from Melbourne (around 2 hours), and the fact that a lack of town sewerage has meant a ban on further sub-division.
The Bratowooloong people of the Gunai nation lived in the area before European settlement. The first Europeans to visit the area were three shipwrecked sailors in 1797. Irish convicts escaped south from Sydney and landed on Seal Island where several men were stranded and found by George Bass who put them ashore near Shallow Inlet to walk back to Sydney. No more was ever heard of them.
Sealers and whalers visited the area in the first half of the nineteenth century. However, it wasn't until the 1860s that the area was settled by cattle farmers. The arrival of the Gippsland railway line improved the viability of local farms and made dairy farming in the area. The Post Office opened on 2 September 1926, and was closed in 1994.
The development of the town as a tourist location started in earnest in the 1960s but has been restricted by its natural heritage values.
Sandy Point is one of the few coastal towns in the region to remain relatively unaffected by the housing boom along the coast. That is partly due to its distance from Melbourne (around 2 hours), and the fact that a lack of town sewerage has meant a ban on further sub-division.
The Bratowooloong people of the Gunai nation lived in the area before European settlement. The first Europeans to visit the area were three shipwrecked sailors in 1797. Irish convicts escaped south from Sydney and landed on Seal Island where several men were stranded and found by George Bass who put them ashore near Shallow Inlet to walk back to Sydney. No more was ever heard of them.
Sealers and whalers visited the area in the first half of the nineteenth century. However, it wasn't until the 1860s that the area was settled by cattle farmers. The arrival of the Gippsland railway line improved the viability of local farms and made dairy farming in the area. The Post Office opened on 2 September 1926, and was closed in 1994.
The development of the town as a tourist location started in earnest in the 1960s but has been restricted by its natural heritage values.
Map - Sandy Point (Sandy Point)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |