Portland is another interesting Victorian town. It benefits from a beautiful bay and harbour, and has incredibly strong history, being the birthplace of Victoria. Many original buildings are still being used. Capes Nelson and Bridgewater are a short drive away and the enigmatic Budj Bim (Mount Eccles) makes for a good day out. Portland is a really good place – even the terrible weather could not spoil it for us.
We were at the Portland on the 23, 24 and 25 March.
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting There
Halls Gap > Hamilton > Portland ~ 188kms
History
The Gunditjmara First Nations people are the traditional owners of the south west, taking in what is now Portland. The waterways, wetlands, flora and fauna gave the Gunditjmara the rich resources to live a semi-sedentary lifestyle. To read more on their culture and history, click here.
The Gunditjmara were present when the early commercial sealers arrived and when the Henty family created what would become Victoria’s first permanent European settlement.
The bay was named in 1800 by the British navigator James Grant, who sailed in the Lady Nelson along the Victorian coast. The bay is the only deep sea port between Adelaide and Melbourne, and offers a sheltered anchorage against the often wild weather of Bass Strait. By the early 19th century, whalers and sealers were working these treacherous waters, and Portland Bay provided protection and fresh water.
Edward Henty arrived at Portland Bay in November 1834. He was only 24 and, early in December, cultivated the land using a plough he had made himself. He is said to be the first white man to turn a sod in Victoria.
By 1838, land auctions had been authorised from Sydney and the Portland township was surveyed in 1839. “It was government policy to encourage squatters to take possession of whatever land they chose“. A Post Office was opened on 4 December 1841, and around 1842 a Presbyterian church and school were founded.
One highly notable incident – the Convincing Ground Massacre – occurred in Portland Bay in 1833 or 1834 in a dispute between whalers and the Kilcarer gundidj clan about a beached whale. Traditionally beached whales were shared by different clans and a fire was lit on a point to let the clans know. But this time the white whalers claimed the whale, escalating the growing tensions between the sides.
The whalers withdrew to the head station only to return with their firearms. George Robinson, the Protector of Aborigines in the area, wrote the following in his journal recording a conversation he had with the Police Magistrate: “And the whalers then let fly, to use his expression, right and left upon the natives. He said the natives did not go away but got behind trees and threw spears and stones.“ It is believed that only two of the Aboriginal people survived the massacre – a loss of anything from 60 to 200 men and resulted in the decimation of the clan. The Convincing Ground, the site of the massacre, has been listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
In 1837 there were some thirty whaleboats on the water. During the 1839 whaling season, sixty whaleboats were at work in the bay. Industrial whaling in Portland came to an end in the late 1840’s but sporadic whaling continued through until the 1860’s.
The fishing industry expanded in Portland after the railway came through in the 1870s. Fish could then be sent to inland Victorian towns like Ballarat and Henty. The port was sold in 1996 by the State Government to a private sector group, the first privatisation of port facilities in Australia. Since then, it has been traded a number of times. Today Portland supports Victoria’s second largest fishing port.
Commissioned in 1987, the Portland aluminium smelter is Australia’s third largest, with a capacity of around 352,000 tonnes of aluminium per year. The majority of this is exported.
From the 1980s Portland had embraced various power supply options. Initially geothermal power was used to heat more than 19,000 square metres of municipal buildings, a motel and the town’s 2,000m³ swimming pool, using naturally hot groundwater (58 °C). Wind blades from the Vestas Portland plant were first produced in July 2005. The facility cost $9 million, and had a capacity of 225 blades (75 blade sets) per year. Their core business comprises the development, manufacture, sale, marketing and maintenance of wind power systems. However the plant closed in 2007.
The more recent Portland Wind Energy Project involves the development of four wind farms. As one of the biggest wind farm developments in the Southern Hemisphere, the 195MW project would produce enough clean electricity to power about 125,000 homes each year, equal to more than 7 per cent of Victoria’s residential electricity demand, or powering a city the size of Geelong. However there is still some local opposition.
Today, Portland is recognised as the birthplace of Victoria, and as one of the premier destinations for whale, seal and gannet sight-seeing. With dramatic coastlines and volcanic cliffs, isolated beaches, majestic historical buildings and a vibrant industrial port, the area presents many options for the tourist. In 2018 the population of Portland was 11,872.
Day 1 – Sat 23 Mar – To and at Portland
It was a lovely day and we were up early to get ready for the move. It is a lovely drive south to Dunkeld, trees lining the road and a continuous line of mountains as a backdrop. Stunning mountains. The road was not the best – narrow and bumpy in places – so we had to keep the speed down.
Hamilton looked a nice town with plenty of trees and historic buildings. But it was busy with no obvious places to park Mobi, so we did not stop to have a walk around.
South of that the land is flat and brown, with massive windbreaks across the landscape. It is quite a pleasant drive.
The van park is at the southern end of town very close to the town. The entrance is off the main road but is very narrow with tall buildings on either side. It looks so intimidation that Kerry rang them up to make sure this was correct. We went to a roundabout and came around the other way so that we could get the widest possible swing into the drive. Fortunately, once you are registered, there is another driveway at the back. We have a good wide level dirt site and are quickly set up. I had read there were koalas in this park – and we quickly spotted 2 – almost but not quite above our van. So nice to see them so close to us.
The cost is $33 a night and the facilities reflect this – a bit older and dated but clean. Fine by us. We got both Optus (our 4G modem plus my phone) and Telstra (Kerry’s phone).
We quickly got to the tourist information office and came away with lots of ideas. Firstly, we went around town to get a feel for it. We were at the harbour so we drove out to the Lee Breakwater hoping to see some seals on the point. But no such luck, had to settle for some photos. The colour of the water was lovely.
We had been admiring the church and convent from the breakwater and drove up for a closer look. Lovely buildings. The first catholic service was held in 1844 and the first church built in 1848. There was a very strong Mary MacKillop theme in the information provided. This was, apparently, her first teaching post.
The convent is now Bayview College, but in 1830 this was a very small house which was once rented by Mary MacKillop.
Back in town we followed the map of the historic buildings – there are so many – check our photo page for the full collections. We particularly liked Macs Hotel (1856) and the Old Post Office (1883) standing opposite each other on Gawler St, and the lovely old Customs House – built in 1849 and still being used. And around the corner the Town Hall (1863) – lovely buildings all.
There are spectacular churches and civic buildings as there always seems to be – where did the money come from for such magnificent buildings way back then.
And some lovely homes – there are so, so many. And people obviously take pride in their gardens.
Day 2 – Sun 24 Mar – Portland Capes
We drove south to see Capes Nelson and Bridgewater. It was cloudy and initially quite cold. Our first stop was at Yellow Rock, which was just below the lookout, providing views up and down the coast – including the wind turbines. A lovely coastline. I am sure some people would argue that the turbines should not be so close to the headlands but personally I love the combination – both graceful in their own right and blending well together.
Next we came to the Enchanted Forest. Here an old land slip below the level of the clifftop has been covered by dense vegetation. The starting point is along Scenic Road (about 3km before it reaches the Cape Nelson Lighthouse Road from Portland). You can either do a loop (which means walking back along the road at the end or walk, or go halfway and retrace your steps). We just walked down and along for a few hundred meters and then came back out again. The path descends down steepish steps into an area with bower spinach vines hanging down from Moonah trees, which gives the feel of an enchanted forest.
Our next stop was at the Eastern Ramparts Lookout. Here, the cliffs and brilliant colour of the sea make a dramatic picture. Lovely area.
Then we got to the Volcanic Isles Lookout, providing long views north, including some distant islands, which we assume are the volcanic islands.
Then it was on to the Cape Nelson Light Station, which is deserted and not even the toilets are open (oh dear). It’s a lovely lighthouse, all 35 m of it. In July 1884 the Cape Nelson Lighthouse was officially lit. The need for a lighthouse had been apparent since the earliest years of settlement. The state of navigation, the nature of sailing vessels and the treacherous coastline meant that vessels were in danger as they made their way to and from Melbourne to Adelaide. From time to time there were major ship wrecks in the area.
The old houses for the staff are beautiful. They are available for holiday rental – that would be amazing.
Bridgewater Bay Beach is a delightful place.
From there we went to the Blowholes – which were not operating as the seas were mild.
The Petrified Forest is not far along the headland. This area contains hollow cylinders of rock which look like the petrified bark of a tree with the centre rotted away. An intriguing place. This is named from an early theory that advancing sand engulfed an ancient coastal forest that once covered the sea cliff, petrifying them for all time.
Reality is different. The formation is actually a collection of hollow tubes of limestone called “solution pipes”, eroded by millions of years of rainfall. The process starts when water gathers in a shallow pan of sand and seeps downwards dissolving the limestone. The mineral saturated water then cements the sand, forming hard, trunk-shaped pipes. Most pipes around Cape Bridgewater are only 3m high, although some are as much as 20m.
We headed off to see the seal colony, passing some lovely cliffs on the way. We had not noticed how far the colony was from the carpark. But at the Perilous Parapet we saw that we had walked 2.5km and still has 3km to go. We turned back. We had misread the sign unfortunately… thankfully it was not a strenuous walk – although the wind was strong.
We drove back to Bay Beach for lunch – it really is a pretty place. But as it was Sunday the cafe was crowded and our lunch order took almost an hour to arrive.
On the drive back to Mobi we got glimpses of the Bridgewater lakes. These are located just inland from Descartes Bay. They are freshwater coastal lagoons separated from the sea by sand dunes, they are sheltered and well-suited to many recreational activities. Water drains through the limestone and emerges as springs at the edge of the cliffs, resulting in fresh water pools. In the early days of settlement, a stone ramp was constructed so that when water was scarce, cattle could be driven or led down the cliff to the fresh water pools.
From there it was back to Mobi, as the weather started to close in – high winds and rain squalls. Based on the forecast that morning, we had taken in the awning and side screen. Now we were relieved.
Day 3 – Mon 25 Mar – Portland – Budj Bim
It was a horrible night weather wise – super strong winds (BOM said up to 60kph). Kerry found my plastic crocks blown half way to the toilets. Showers persisted through the night and they were not finished yet. But in the morning, we drove off to see Budj Mim NP. But we called in to see a couple of First Nation highlights on the way.
We drove the short distance north east to Narrawong, stopping at Allestree to check out the beach. Quite nice given the very cold and windy day.
We turned left onto Boyers Rd at Narrawong and made our way to Sawpit Picnic Area. There were quite a few vans and campers up there. We found the Whalers Lookout track – the sign was handily placed 20m down the track – and walked to the lookout. This was only about a 15 min walk. The lookout is really interesting and impressive. Three tall stainless steel leaves form the monument representing the fires lit by the Cart Gundidj clan to send a message that a whale had become beached in Portland Bay. The clans would then gather to feast.
With the arrival of the white settlers a new deal was struck with First Nations people and the fire was lit when whales were seen in the Bay. The First Nations clans were given a token amount of the whale. This led to tensions and finally the Convincing Massacre occurred with the dead of all but 2 of the clan.
As we left the lookout it started to rain which got heavier with every step. Then the rain turned to small hailstones so by the time we got back to The Cruiser we were soaked. Fortunately, we had our rain jackets on but everything below our waists was drenched. At least the hail was only small – I was dreading big hailstones as I only had normal shoes (not walking boots) and couldn’t run in case I slipped. Dripping wet by the time I got to the car.
From there we went to the Tyrednarra Indigenous Protected Area. This region is a traditional meeting place and camping area for the Gunditjmara people – the land is part of major dreaming trails and an important ceremonial site. Tyrendarra is also well known for the high numbers of tiger snakes and copperhead snakes active from spring through to autumn.
Tyrendarra features the remains of a large, settled community that systematically farmed eels for food and trade in one of Australia’s earliest and largest aquaculture ventures. The remnants of Indigenous engineering works include weirs, channels and eel traps. Fish baskets were build into fish traps, and the eels were diverted to holding ponds to extend the time that staple food was available. The eels were smoked and traded.
As well, there are 2 reconstructed circular stone dwellings. The availability of food meant that more permanent buildings could be built. These are amazing and completely contradicts our previous understanding that all First Nations people were nomadic.
From there it was on to the nearby Budj Bim, which is a long dormant volcano. Budj Bim is the source of the Tyrendarra lava flow which extends over 50km to the southwest. It is central to the history of the Gunditjmara people. Budj Bim National Park (formerly Mount Eccles) is Victoria’s first co-managed NP. On arrival we came to a depression with a massive wall of red rock at one end. We wondered if it were a crater but concluded it was probably more likely a quarry. But it turned out to be a “wall” that somehow held back the lava….
There is a 3.2km return walk to Natural Bridge, but, given the weather, we drove around to the carpark, leaving only a 200m walk. We went into and along a lava canal – the sides of which got high and higher as we went in. We came to a large cavern which we entered and made our way through to the other side. We used our phone torches but a good torch would have been much better. And yes, its raining again – but only lightly.
Given the continually threatening weather we drove around to Lake Surprise. This is in a crater so we could only look down on it.
On the return to Portland we drove through farmlands and forests. But at one point came across a koala crossing the road. There was a really slow car in front of us. Suddenly though, they sped up just as I spotted a koala crossing in front of them. Lights flashing, horn tooting, they swerved and just missed it… The poor little thing got blown back a bit though. I managed to stop and flashed lights as there was a car coming the other way very fast too. Luckily the little one got across unscathed.
We could have spent more time at Portland – I felt we were rushing things too much. Except the weather was so bad.
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To see a video from this post, click here