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Produced and published by the School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne
Published July 2008
Published July 2008
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With Fort Queenscliff, Point Nepean provided 19th-century Melbourne's first line of defence at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. Following war scares in the 1870s, guns were sited on shoals at the bay's entrance and on Point Nepean to guard against seaward attack. By 1888 Point Nepean and Fort Queenscliff mounted 19 breech-loading guns, some on hydropneumatic carriages in fortified positions, the remains of which can be seen today. The first Allied shots in both world wars were fired from Point Nepean. In 1967 the Prime Minister, Harold Holt, disappeared at nearby Cheviot Beach. Point Nepean was incorporated into Mornington Peninsula National Park in 1995. In 1997 the Army School of Health vacated the barracks at the Quarantine Station.