| Portarlington | |
Location: | 106km southwest of Melbourne on the Bellarine Peninsula |
Council: | City of Greater Geelong |
Population: | 2553 |
Postcode: | 3223 |
A resort town on the northern tip of the Bellarine Peninsula, every summer thousands of campers descend on the largest single camping area in Victoria to enjoy safe swimming and ideal conditions for a variety of water sports. A small fishing fleet operates from a pier built last century to accommodate much larger paddlesteamers. The town was once the granary of the colony, a status reflected in the Old Mill (1857), a gigantic fourstorey steam flour mill that is now run by the National Trust as a museum.
The Matthew Flinders Memorial at Steele Rock commemorates his journey around Australia, and particularly his exploration of the northern Bellarine Peninsula and Port Phillip Bay in 1802.