Mornington Peninsula National Park
The Farnsworth Track
The Farnsworth Track links Portsea Surf Beach with London Bridge along the cliff tops via two
scenic lookouts. Start at Portsea for the best views. An alternate return route is available
along the beach. The loop return walk is 2km long.
How to get there
The national park is 90 kilometres south of Melbourne.
Farnsworth track is accessed from either the car park
at the end of London Bridge Rd or Back Beach Rd,
Portsea (Melway 156 B5).
The Farnsworth Track was constructed in 1987 by the
former Department of Conservation, Forests and
Lands and financed by a donation from the family of
the late J. J. Farnsworth. These notes describe natural
features seen on the way, and give some of the
historical background.
Things to see and do
Starting at the Portsea Surf Beach car park, enjoy the
view from the first lookout along the track. To the
east, view Cape Schanck and the Peninsula’s backbone
running up to the granite of Arthurs Seat. To the north
are the low-lying Mud Island, Bellarine Peninsula and
Swan Island. Barwon Heads is to the west, with the
long panorama of the Otway Ranges stretching away
to the south-west (fully visible only in good
conditions).
The Farnsworth Track is part of the 26km Coastal Walk
which extends from London Bridge to Cape Schanck.
This walk is identified on signage by the round Hooded
Plover symbol.
For the even more adventurous, try the 100km
Mornington Peninsula Walk which links the Coastal
walk to a network of other tracks across the Peninsula.
A separate brochure and map are available.
Flora & fauna
From the end of September until May, many
thousands of Short-tailed Shearwaters visit Bass
Strait. If you have binoculars, look for these dark
oceanic birds far out to sea, either wheeling around
or congregating on the water in calm weather. In
winter months, larger visitors fly north to Bass Strait
from the Southern Ocean and Antarctica - Giant
Petrels and several albatross species.
Visitors with a keen eye might be lucky enough to
spot the nationally significant Hooded Plover. These
small, well camouflaged shorebirds feed in the
intertidal zone on many of the park’s beaches. As
they lay their eggs directly onto the sand between the
high-tide mark and the foredune, you can help their
plight by avoiding this area, keeping away from nest
sites and only walking your dog on a leash at the
water’s edge during permitted times.
A number of rare mammals also make this section of
the coast their home. The illusive Long-nosed
Bandicoots and nationally significant White-footed
Dunnarts come out at night in search for insects
among the undergrowth.
The larger shrubs along this track, Coast Tea-tree
(Leptospermum laevigatum), Moonah (Melaleuca
lanceolata) and Coast Beard-heath (Leucopogon
parviflorus) grow freely to their maximum height in
the shelter of the dune valleys. Compare this with the
dune slopes facing the ocean, where wind borne salt
has pruned the vegetation by burning off the leaves.
In some exposed sites the moonahs have adapted to
the prevailing weather. They form gnarled, twisted
trunks supporting a dense, sculptured canopy of thick
leaves which deflect the salt winds, thereby
protecting both plants and dunes.
Not all plants are welcome in this habitat; three
South African species have become problematic
invaders. In winter and spring, Smilax Asparagus
(Asparagus asparagoides), a smooth-leaved climbing
plant smothers the native understorey. You may also
spot Myrtle-leaf Milkwort (Polygala myrtifolia) with
its purple pea-like flowers and African Boxthorn
(Lycium ferocissimum) with it vicious spines. These
introduced weeds were brought by early settlers who
came via South Africa before the Suez Canal was
constructed.
History
Indigenous cultural heritage
For many thousands of years Aboriginal people
inhabited this area and made use of the abundant
plants and animals. The broken shells and bones that
you may observe in the dunes are the remains of
numerous feasts enjoyed by the Aboriginal people.
For further information
Call Parks Victoria on 13 1963
or visit www.parks.vic.gov.au
Park Office
44 Hinton Street
P.O. Box 400, Rosebud
Call 5986 9100
Point Nepean Visitor Centre
Point Nepean Rd, Portsea
Call 5984 4276
Caring for the
environment
Help us look after your park
by following these guidelines:
Please take rubbish home with
you for recycling and disposal.
Keep to the formed walking
tracks.
Bicycles are not permitted on
walking tracks.
Dogs are prohibited in Greens
Bush and along the coast from
Gunnamatta to Bushrangers
Bay.
Dogs are permitted in some
locations along the coast
between sunrise and
9:00am only.
In areas where dogs are
permitted, they must be on a
lead at all times.
Firearms are not permitted in
the park.
Fires are not permitted in the
park.
All native plants and animals
are protected. Leave the park
as you found it.
Healthy Parks Healthy People
Visiting a park can improve
your health, mind, body and
soul. So, with over four million
hectares of parkland available
to Victorians, why not escape
to a park today!
These midden sites are tangible evidence of Aboriginal
culture and provide Traditional Owners with a link to
their past ancestry.
His desire to encourage more people to share the
beauty of the ocean beach led to a long involvement
with the former Ocean Park Committee.
Always stay on formed walking tracks to avoid
disturbing these significant cultural sites. All sites are
protected and Aboriginal material should not be
removed or interfered with.
Geology
European settlement
The first European explorers described the Nepean
Peninsula as park-like, with Drooping Sheoak
(Allocasuarina verticilla) and Moonah (Melaleuca
lanceolata) interspersed with grassy clearings. When
Lieutenant John Murray aboard the “Lady Nelson”
entered Port Phillip Bay in 1802 he described the
topography of the southern shore as “. . . bold and
high land with stout trees of various kinds ... The trees
are at a good distance apart and no brush intercepts
you”.
This timber was rapidly cleared when European
settlers came; larger grazing areas were required,
fence posts and firewood were needed, and the
Sheoak was used to burn limestone to make lime for
the Melbourne building industry.
Arriving in 1840, James Sandle Ford was the district’s
first successful settler. Convicted of “machine
breaking” in the agricultural unrest in southern
England in 1830, he had been transported to Van
Diemen’s Land, then pardoned before finding his way
to the Peninsula.
He named the area Portsea after his home town in
England and his energy and enterprise were soon
evident, as he shipped lime to Melbourne and
supplied produce to the nearby Quarantine Station
established in 1852.
The Farnsworth family
The local Farnsworth family originated from John
Farnsworth, who built some notable Sorrento and
Portsea houses; the Sorrento Hotel and the Nepean
Hotel, Portsea. John married James Ford’s daughter,
Anne.
Their son John Nepean Farnsworth farmed the area
between Campbell’s Road and Portsea Golf Course
(north of the walking track) and operated a horsedrawn transport business. Twentieth-century
developments were introduced by John Nepean’s two
sons John James and Harry, who developed an
extensive transport business.
John James Farnsworth (1902 -1984) had a long and
active association with the district. After the Second
World War he established a red bus service linking
Sorrento and Portsea via Mt Levy. He is mainly
remembered for the Sorrento- Portsea-Queenscliff
ferry service that he initiated in 1953 with the “Judith
Ann”; he worked actively on the ferries until 1979.
A beautifully protected well-vegetated cliff can be
seen if you walk along the beach between Portsea and
London Bridge. The soft sandstone is guarded by the
grassy frontal dune below and by undisturbed
vegetation at higher levels.
This can be contrasted with the eroding cliff in the
small cove beyond London Bridge rocks. Here the soft
sandstone is actively receding under direct attack from
wave action and winds; a relentless process that
people can do little to prevent.
Along the extensive sandy shores, sand is shifted
continuously by the dynamic energy striking it,
sometimes accumulating on the foredune, later to be
cut into a small cliff by a high tide. If you visit the
beach frequently this process can be seen to move
along the beach over time, forming small crescentshaped shorelines. Native vegetation, such as Bower
Spinach (Tetragonia implexicoma) and Hairy Spinifex
(Spinifex sericeus) are valuable in binding the
foredune.
Beachcombers can see many things of interest
scattered along the beach. Rough weather may throw
up the remains of various deep-water birds not usually
found inshore: species of shearwater, large
albatrosses, prions, petrels and the better known Little
Penguin. Usually this is the result of a natural process
that occurs periodically.
A fragile landscape
The sandhills around this track assumed their present
form 5,000 - 10,000 years ago. At that time, winds
blew enormous quantities of sand to create the local
landscape. Later milder, wetter climates encouraged a
diversity of plants to cover the sand dunes.
You will see that the soil on the track is a dark sand.
This is the original yellow wind-blown sand after plant
cover has deposited leaf litter, forming a natural
compost.
In this environment, seemingly “permanent”
landscapes can quickly disappear if badly treated.
Horses, bikes and off-track walkers destroy vegetation
and expose areas of bare sand, causing major erosion
problems that are difficult and expensive to correct.
To protect the vegetation and landforms, do not make
new paths - please keep to the marked tracks.
We hope you enjoy exploring the Mornington
Peninsula National Park via the Farnsworth Track.
March 2012
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