Corinella

The township of Corinella is on the south-eastern shore of Western Port Bay, about 90 km south-east of Melbourne. It is the site of one of the earliest white settlements in Victoria. Fears of French colonisation prompted an official settlement in Western Port Bay in 1826, first on Phillip Island, at 'Fort Dumaresq'. It soon moved to Corinella, where a party of soldiers and convicts constructed over 50 buildings. As land was cleared, gardens were planted and crops of wheat and maize harvested. Sheep, horses, cattle and pigs were husbanded. Cannons were installed to defend the community.