| Address: | 237 Ocean Beach Road |
|---|---|
| Suburb: | Sorrento |
The Picturesque Coastline of Sorrento’s Ocean Beach was aptly described in the publication ‘Victoria: the Garden State of Australia’, 1931, courtesy of Nepean Historical Society Archives.
“Not withstanding the fact that Sorrento is regarded as one of Victoria’s most popular seaside resorts and that consequently its beaches literally swarm with people of all classes during the season, the whole town maintains an indefinable air of dignity that raises it to a standard above many other littoral towns…
“… only one mile from the Bay, across a narrow neck of land, to the Ocean, and Sorrento’s Ocean Beach is one of the most ruggedly beautiful scenes to be found anywhere in Victoria. Here, huge foam-capped rollers beat against the cliffs in showers of spray, while a little further along snowy white beaches offer thrills by the hundred to lovers of surf bathing.”
Enjoy the walks here which variously follow the old tram tracks; and provide birds eye views from Webster’s Corner over the town and Coppin’s Lookout along the Bass Strait coast. Stay a while, enjoy a swim or a surf before heading back into the township for a meal. A swim with the dolphins, a ferry trip to Queenscliff, or a drive along the coast can all be had during your stay in Sorrento. Walk, wander and ponder.
View of Port Phillip Bay from Sorrento Back Beach. Eli Bennett, artist: ca. 1880 ----- Middle to background can be seen the Sorrento Hotel, built 1872, the Continental Hotel, 1875. Possibly Roman Catholic Church,1876 or St Andrews Presbyterian Church, 1889 with Mechanics Institute, 1876, in the fore. Copyright image courtesy of the State Library Of Victoria.
The Town of Sorrento: ca. 1931 ----- Image courtesy of The Nepean Historical Society and ‘Victoria: the Garden State of Australia’, c.1931, photography by Oswald L. Ziegler.
The Town of Sorrento: 2013
View of the Oceanic (Formerly Back Beach Palace) and Whitehall 1906 ----- Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria.
View of Whitehall and the Back Beach Palace, 1906 and 2013 ----- Image courtesy of the Nepean Historical Society Inc. (NHS).
Horse Drawn Tram at the Ocean Back Beach: ca. 1890-1910 ----- Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria.
Ocean Back Beach Tram Platform: ca. 1890-1921 ----- The final stop for passengers on their journey from Sorrento Pier to the Ocean Back Beach. Image courtesy of Rose Stereograph Co and The State Library of Victoria.
View of Sorrento Back Beach: 2013 ----- There is little to indicate the former position of the tram platform.
View of the Sorrento Back Beach: 1906 ----- Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria.
View of the Sorrento Back Beach, 1906 and 2013 ----- Image courtesy the Nepean Historical Society Inc. (NHS).
View of the Sorrento Back Beach: c. 1931 ----- Image courtesy of The Nepean Historical Society and ‘Victoria: the Garden State of Australia’, c.1931, photography by Oswald L. Ziegler. “Victoria, The Garden State of Australia”.
Ocean Back Beach: ca. 1920-1954 ----- Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria.
Coppin’s Lookout, Ocean Back Beach: 2013.
