Cannons Creek

Cannons Creek is a foreshore town at the top of Western Port Bay, with its waters protected by Quail Island and Warneet. It is 55 km south-east of central Melbourne.

The origin of the name is obscure: perhaps from the Cannon family's farm at the head of the creek or (highly unlikely) the removal of heavy cannons from boats that were careened in the protected waters.

Nearby Tooradin had been a popular fishing village for decades when visitors came to Cannons Creek in the 1920s. The first house was built in 1940. Increased house building and visitation began in the 1960s.

Cannons Creek's built-up area is on peaty clays, mainly swamp deposits. There is a foreshore reserve, some of it on former salt marsh. Cannons Creek has two jetties, a bushland reserve, a general store and a community centre. There is a bus service from Cranbourne. Cannons Creek's census populations have been: