Sorrento, Victoria

Sorrento is a township of Victoria, Australia, almost at the far tip of the Mornington Peninsula about 1 and a half hours south of the Capital, Melbourne. It is a largely upper-class, seaside resort area but is also a quiet seaside township in the off peak months of the year with two schools, and one main shopping strip on Ocean Beach Road with retail, groceries and services. Sorrento is the site of Victoria's first settlement in 1803, 30 years before the founding of Melbourne.

The town has a number of grand historic homes and hotels which date back to the 1860s, almost all of which have been constructed in local sandstone. These are mostly found atop the hill along the main street between the bay and surf beaches.

Continental Hotel

Sorrento Hotel

[edit] History

It was here in Sorrento that Victoria's first European settlement was established.

The settlement was short lived due to the lack of fresh water resources. Sullivans Bay was the site of the first magistrate's court, first public hospital, first postal service and the first government printing office. The first wedding, christening and funeral service were held in Sullivan's Bay. It was also the home of a camp of soldiers and convicts.

The first settlement site overlooking Sullivans Bay includes the graves of the first settlers.

[edit] Trivia

The location was the inspiration for Tina Arena's 1994 single "Sorrento Moon (I Remember)", rather than the Italian location with the same name as many are led to believe.

It is the base of the Sorrento-Queenscliff Searoad ferry.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: -38.346° 144.740°

Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.

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This article has been tagged since March 2007.

Suburbs of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula