Western Port - Attempted Colonisation

Attempted Colonisation

In the year 1826 it was reported that the French had resolved to found a settlement at some Australian harbor - probably King George's Sound or Western Port. The British Government at once sent instructions to Sydney for Governor Darling to immediately take possession of these places. As a result, Colonel Stewart, Captain S. Wright, and Lieutenant Burchell were sent in H.M.S. Fly (Captain Wetherall) and the brigs Dragon and Amity, with orders to proceed to Western Port, on 18 November 1826. They took a number of convicts and a small force composed of detachments of the 3rd and 93rd regiments. The expedition landed at Settlement Point, on the eastern side of the bay, which was the headquarters until the abandonment of Western Port at the instance of Governor Darling about twelve months afterwards, as unfit for civilisation,

It was only after the end of World War II that serious consideration was given to the development of the port, and its flat shores north of Stony and Crib Points have become a centre for heavy industry.