Port Albert, Victoria
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Port Albert ( ) is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, located on Yarram - Port Albert Road, 120 kilometres south-east of Morwell, 238 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, in the Wellington Shire. The town has an approximate population of 250.
Port Albert was one of the earliest ports established in Victoria. In 1841 the Gippsland Company investigated the area following favourable reports from explorer Angus McMillan. In May of that year the first settlers arrived. Initially the area was known as Seabank or Old Port, but was changed to New Leith when the town started developing, and later changed to Port Albert in honour of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria. It became the administrative centre of Gippsland and a transport hub for cargo between Melbourne and Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), thanks to its 250 metre timber jetty. As the Victorian Gold Rush began in the 1850s, traffic through Port Albert increased, bringing prospectors from Europe and China. This further added to Port Albert's prosperity.
During the 1870s and 1880s, Gippsland was gradually settled, and connected to the railway network. This reduced Port Albert's role as an important transport hub, and the population subsequently decreased.
Today the town acts as a commercial fishing port, and is popular was fishers and surfers. The town hosts a fishing competition each March.
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