| Pre-European Settlement |
Area inhabited by Bengalat balug (Clan) of the Wathaurong
Tribe |
| 1802 |
First European
explorers.
January : Lieutenant John Murray
April : Captain Matthew Flinders |
| 1803 - 1835 |
William Buckley the first European
living in the area |
| 1835 + |
Area investigated and surveyed by Wedge and Gellibrand |
| 1836 + |
Area occupied by squatters |
| 1839 |
Captain George Tobin obtained first sea pilot's licence |
| 1842 - 43 |
First lighthouse constructed from local stone at Shortlands
Bluff - later replaced by "Black Lighthouse". The first light shone in April
1843. |
| 1848 |
Schooner "Thetis" and "Sophia" wrecked on
a reef opposite Point Lonsdale |
| 1849 |
"Princess Royal" wrecked on Point Lonsdale Reef |
| 1850 - 53 |
"David", "James Foored",
"Conside", "Portland",and "Isabella" and
"Sacramento" (among others) all wrecked at Port Phillip Heads highlighting the
need for a lighthouse at Point Lonsdale. |
| 1853 |
Auditor General allocated £15,000 for lighthouse |
| 1854 |
Captain Preston began building the signal station - there
were no houses so it is presumed the Captain and his niece Fanny Green may have lived in
tents until the station was completed. |
| 1857 - 58 |
"House on the Hill" built by a gang of convict
labour |
| 1860 |
Small farms and lime kilns of Messrs James Hutchins and J
Coopser had been started |
| 1863 |
Salt works started |
| 1863 - 64 |
Old Queenscliff lighthouse moved to Point Lonsdale.
Captain Richards was in charge of the lighthouse - his assistants were Moore and Martin |
| 1864 |
Governess Miss Jones drowned and was believed to be the first
burial in the Queenscliff cemetery at Point Lonsdale. |
| 1865 - 66 |
Another gang of convicts arrived to build a house in the
Reserve below the lighthouse |
| 1867 - 68 |
Salvage opportunities afters wrecks of the "Black
Swan" and "Light of Ages" |
| 1869 |
Miss Fanny Green left to become post mistress at Malmsbury |
| 1874 |
Passenger steamers and Cobb & Co coming to Point Lonsdale |
| 1876 |
Government land sale - Admans and Simpson some of the early
buyers, paying £5 an acre for land north of the cemetery |
| 1878 |
Telephones came into use between Queenscliff and Point
Lonsdale |
| 1879 |
 | Railway line completed between Geelong and Queenscliff, bringing more visitors to Point
Lonsdale |
| Edward Gill went to work at Hutchins' Farm - he later took of the farm, worked a lime
kiln supplying lime for new buildings, and kept cows supplying milk to the district |
|
| 1881 - 1882 |
Wesleyan Camp Meeting held at end of December and beginning
of January |
| 1882 |
Crouch family arrive in Point Lonsdale to build a house - the
first of many people from Ballarat to chose Point Lonsdale for their holidays or home |
| 1885 |
| Further land sales - south of the cemetery |
| Point Lonsdale House advertised as being open to the public for a limited number of
boards. It stood where the Terminus now stands - the original building was destroyed
by fire. |
|
| 1886 |
| Fog horn erected - originally run by a hot-air engine, this was quickly replaced by a
steam engine |
| "Glaneuse" wrecked off Ocean Beach near the lighthouse |
|
| 1888 |
"Retreat Villa" erected for Tom McBain, assistant
lightkeeper |
| 1889 - 90 |
Cottee's Coffee Palace erected |
| 1890's |
Pier built and paddle steamers came to the Point |
| 1899 |
William Golightly erected a large twelve-roomed house for Mr
McBain adjacent to "Retreat Villa". This became the boarding House
"Merrilyn" |
| 1901 - 02 |
| New lighthouse built and light was lit on 20th Mary 1902 |
| Postal duties removed from lookout and signal station to the lighthouse keeper's
quarters |
|
| 1903 |
Blasting of the rock in the Rip damaged the lighthouse |
| 1906 |
First wireless message from Australia to Devonport in
Tasmania - sent from near the National Fitness Camp at Point Lonsdale |
| 1910 |
First Post Office opened - Edward Gill appointed Postmaster |
| 1946 |
House in the Reserve below the lighthouse demolished |
