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Description
Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula at the entrance to Port Phillip in southern Victoria, Australia and is bounded on its north side by the environmentally important Swan Bay. The area was first inhabited by the Bengalat Bulag clan of the Wathaurong tribe, a member of the Kulin nation. European explorers first arrived in 1802, Lieutenant John Murray in January and Captain Matthew Flinders in April. The first European settler in the area was convict escapee William Buckley who lived there between 1803 and 1835.
Queenscliff became a tourist destination in the late 1800s, with visitors arriving from Melbourne via a two hour journey on the paddle steamer, Ozone. The opening of a railway line to Geelong in 1879 brought increasing tourists to the area, and numerous luxury hotels (or coffee palaces) were built to accommodate this. In recent times, many of the fine Victorian-era buildings have been restored into guesthouses and upmarket hotels; these are complemented by good cafes and restaurants, a great golf course and numerous other attractions.
Queenscliff is home to the Queenscliff Music Festival, a popular annual music festival which attracts both local and international acts and is an important part of the town's ongoing tourist industry.
