- Sorrento, Victoria
Infobox Australian Place
name = Sorrento
caption = Sorrento Beach
state = vic
type = suburb
lga = Shire of Mornington Peninsula
area = 7
city = Melbourne
est = 1830s
postcode = 3943
pop = 1529 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC21617 | name = Sorrento (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-10-01 | quick = on]
propval = $635,000 [ [http://www.domain.com.au/public/suburbprofile.aspx?suburb=Sorrento&postcode=3943 Sorrento] , 24 September 2007]
stategov = Nepean
fedgov = Flinders
dist1 = 91 | location1 =Melbourne
near-nw = Portsea
near-n =
near-ne = "Port Phillip "
near-w =
near-e =
near-sw = "Bass Strait "
near-s =
near-se = BlairgowrieSorrento is a township in Victoria,
Australia , located on the shores ofPort Phillip Bay on theMornington Peninsula , about one and a half hours south ofMelbourne . It is a largely upper-class, seaside resort area, but is also a quiet seaside township in the off-peak months of the year.History
In 1803, 30 years before the founding of
Melbourne , Sullivan Bay in Sorrento became the site of Victoria's first European settlement.Due to a lack of fresh water the settlement was short lived and subsequently moved to Hobart in Tasmania. Victoria's first
magistrates' court ,public hospital ,postal service and government printing office were established in Sorrento. The first Victorian wedding, christening and funeral services were held at Sullivan Bay.The first settlement site overlooking Sullivan Bay includes graves believed to be of first settlers.
Sorrento Post Office opened on 10 January 1871. Citation
last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ]A horse and steam powered tram which ran between the foreshore and the back beach opened in 1890 and closed in 1919. [Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December, 1960 pp181-185]
Today
The town has a number of grand historic homes and hotels which date back to the 1860s, almost all of which have been constructed with local limestone. The
Mechanics' Institute, Sorrento was built in 1877 using local limestone and the building, which is now classified by theNational Trust of Australia , houses the Nepean Historical Society's museum.Sorrento has regular bus routes and a vehicular ferry,
Peninsula Searoad Transport , operates an hourly service between Sorrento and Queenscliff.The Sorrento Park, established in 1870, contains a variety of trees, including an
Aleppo Pine grown from the seed of the Lone Pine ofGallipoli . [http://www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/documents/other/Complete%20Amendment%20C23.pdf]The town has an
Australian Rules football team competing in theMornington Peninsula Nepean Football League .Gallery
References
External links
* [http://www.nepeanhistoricalsociety.asn.au/ Sorrento Museum and Heritage Gallery]
* [http://www.nepeanhistoricalsociety.asn.au/cottage.html Watts Cottage]
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