Point Nepean National Park

Point Nepean forms the eastern side of the Rip, the narrow entrance to Port Phillip where tides run hard over a shallow rock ledge and ships have been lost regularly since the nineteenth century. That strategic position produced Fort Nepean, a complex of gun emplacements, tunnels and magazines built from the 1880s, from which the first Allied shot of the First World War was fired at a German steamer attempting to leave the bay in August 1914, and reportedly the first Australian shot of the Second World War as well. The Quarantine Station near the entrance held arriving migrants in isolation from 1852. Harold Holt disappeared swimming at Cheviot Beach here in 1967.

History

Aboriginal settlement here goes back 40,000 years, Bunurong women often gave birth on the point, which they called Boona-djalang, kangaroo hide, for its shape, and the park holds 70 registered Aboriginal sites. John Murray of the Lady Nelson named it in 1802 after Sir Evan Nepean, early settlers burned lime from the cliffs in kilns of about 1840, and the quarantine station opened in 1852, its hospital buildings of 1857 the oldest built for quarantine in Australia, operating until 1980. The wreck of the SS Petriana off the point in 1903 caused Australia's first major oil spill, and forts were built from 1878, with gun batteries at Fort Nepean in 1886 and Eagles Nest in 1888 (Wikipedia, Point Nepean).

What you'll find

• Fort Nepean - gun emplacements, tunnels and magazines at the headland tip.
• The Quarantine Station - preserved isolation buildings from 1852 onward.
• The Rip - the turbulent entrance to Port Phillip seen from the point.
• Cheviot Beach - the surf beach linked to the 1967 disappearance of a prime minister.

When to go

October to April for warm weather; the headland is exposed and cold in winter. The walk or ride to the fort and back is around eight kilometres, or a shuttle bus runs on a timetable. Some tunnels close in wet conditions.

Practical notes

The distance from the car park to the fort surprises people; walking both ways takes several hours and the shuttle is charged and limited. Unexploded ordnance means straying off marked paths is prohibited. Swimming at most of the ocean beaches here is dangerous.

Nearby

Portsea and Sorrento are just east; the Queenscliff ferry leaves from Sorrento.

Key facts