Phillip Island (Victoria)

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Beach in Phillip Island

Valentino Rossi riding in the MotoGP

Overview of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Fairy Penguins

Koala

This article is about Phillip Island in Victoria, Australia. For the Phillip Island south of Norfolk Island, see Phillip Island (Norfolk Island).

Phillip Island is located about 140km away from Melbourne.

Named after Governor Arthur Phillip, Phillip Island in Victoria, Australia, forms a natural breakwater for the shallow waters of Western Port Bay. The island area is approximately 10,000 hectares and 26 kilometres long and 9 kilometres at its widest.^[1] It has 97km of coastline, and is part of the Bass Coast Shire.

A 640 metre concrete bridge connects the mainland town San Remo with the island town Newhaven.^[1] In the 2001 Census the island's permanent population was 7071.^[2] During the summer, the population swells to 40,000. 60% of the island is farmland devoted to grazing of sheep and cattle. Churchill Island and the area around it served as the location for the 1977 Australian film Summerfield.

1 Localities
2 Tourism
3 Climate
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Localities

Towns on and around the island include:

Beachcomber
Cape Woolamai
Cowes
Cowes East
Cowes West
Newhaven
Rhyll
San Remo
Silverleaves
Smith's Beach
Summerland
Sunderland Bay
Sunset Strip
Surf Beach
Ventnor
Wimbledon Heights

[edit] Tourism

Phillip Island a tourist destination visited by 3.5 million people annually.^[1] The Penguin Parade at Phillip Island Nature Park, in which Little Penguins come ashore in groups, attracts visitors from all over the world, who come to see one of the few areas where this species of penguin can be seen. Another popular tourist attraction is the Seal Rocks, which host the largest colony of fur seals in Australia (up to 16,000).^[3]

The island is recognised as having some of the most consistently reliable and varied surf conditions in the country. The island has hosted various surf events in the past, such as the Rip Curl Pro in 2005 and the Roxy Pro Women's Surfing Festival.

On New Year's Eve the island hosts the Pyramid Rock Festival. Other events include the Churchill Island Working Horse and Pioneer Festival; and motor racing on the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, including the Superbike World Championship, Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, and V8 Supercars.

[edit] Climate

Phillip Island experiences milder weather than Melbourne and is tempered by ocean breezes. The mean daily maximum temperature for February is 24.7°C (76.5°F), while for July it is 13.4°C (56.1°F). The mean annual rainfall is 782.3 millimetres (30.8 in), with June being the wettest month (88.1 mm/3.5 in). The prevailing wind for most of the year is a south-westerly which blows in off Bass Strait.

On the 10th of August 2005, snow was observed on the island.^[4] This was a very unusual event.