Port Phillip
- There is also Local Government Area called the City of Port Phillip.
Port Phillip (commonly but incorrectly referred to as Port Phillip Bay) is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia. Melbourne, the state's capital city, is located at its northern periphery, near the mouth of the Yarra River. Melbourne's suburbs extend around much of the eastern shoreline, and the city of Geelong is located on Corio Bay which is a subsidiary bay in the southwest.
Port Phillip contains many bays and beaches including Beaumaris Bay, Corio Bay, St Kilda Beach, Brighton Beach, and others. The narrow entrance to the bay, called the Rip, between Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean features strong tidal streams made turbulent by the uneven contours of the seabed. The best time for small craft to enter the Rip is at slack water. Large ships require expert local guidance to enter and exit, provided by the Port Phillip Pilot Service. There is currently a proposal to deepen the entrance, to allow newer, larger container ships to access Melbourne's docks.
The eastern side of the bay is chacterised by sandy beaches extending from St Kilda, Sandringham, Beaumaris, Seaford, Frankston, Safety Beach/Dromana and Rye to Portsea. Longshore drift carries sand from south to north during winter and from north to south during summer. Cliff erosion control has often resulted in sand starvation, necessitating offshore dredging to replenish the beach.
On the western side of the bay there is a greater variety of beach types, seen at Queenscliff, St Leonards, Indented Head, Portarlington, and Eastern Beach.
Numerous sandbanks and shoals occur in the southern section of the bay, so that the shipping channels from the Rip to the deeper northern section must be continually dredged. The Mud Islands, off Sorrento, are an important breeding habitat for Silver Gull, Australian Pelican and Pacific Gull. Australian Gannets also breed on navigation beacons in this area, and it also hosts breeding colonies of Australian Fur Seal.
Saltmarsh in the northwestern sections of the bay is listed as significant wetlands with the Ramsar Convention and the critically-endangered Orange-bellied Parrot is found at three wintering sites around Port Phillip and the Bellarine Peninsula.
Two ferries travel across the mouth of the bay each hour, between Queenscliff and Sorrento. The service is known as the Searoad ferry. Port Phillip is home to 36 Yacht clubs.
The first Europeans to see Port Phillip were the crew of the Lady Nelson, commanded by Charles Murray, which entered the bay in February 1802. Murray named the bay Port King after the Governor of New South Wales, Phillip Gidley King, but King later renamed it Port Phillip, in honour of his predecessor Arthur Phillip.