Port Albert, Victoria

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Port Albert Victoria
Credit: PhillipC
Population:	248 (2006)^[1]
Postcode:	3971
Location:	236 km (147 mi) SE of Melbourne 82 km (51 mi) S of Morwell 13 km (8 mi) S of Yarram
LGA:	Shire of Wellington
State District:	Gippsland South
Federal Division:	Gippsland

Port Albert is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, located on Yarram - Port Albert Road, 82 kilometres (51 mi) kilometres south-east of Morwell, 236 kilometres (147 mi) kilometres south-east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. At the 2006 census, Port Albert had a population of 248.

Port Albert was one of the earliest ports established in Victoria. In 1841 the Gippsland Company investigated the area following favourable reports from explorer Angus McMillan. In May of that year the first settlers arrived. Initially the area was known as Seabank or Old Port, but was changed to New Leith when the town started developing, and later changed to Port Albert in honour of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria. It became the administrative centre of Gippsland and a transport hub for cargo between Melbourne and Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), thanks to its 250 metre timber jetty. As the Victorian Gold Rush began in the 1850s, traffic through Port Albert increased, bringing prospectors from Europe and China. This further added to Port Albert's prosperity.

During the 1870s and 1880s, Gippsland was gradually settled, and connected to the railway network. This reduced Port Albert's role as an important transport hub, and the population subsequently decreased.

Today the town acts as a commercial fishing port, and is popular was fishers and surfers. The town hosts a fishing competition each March.

[edit] References

^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Port Albert (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.

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