Arthurs Seat, Victoria
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Arthurs Seat Melbourne, Victoria |
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View from Arthurs Seat towards Port Phillip heads
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 Arthurs Seat
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| Coordinates | 38°21′7.2″S 144°57′10.8″E / 38.352000°S 144.953000°ECoordinates: 38°21′7.2″S 144°57′10.8″E / 38.352000°S 144.953000°E | ||||||||||||
| Population | 373 (2011 census) | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 249/km2 (644/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3936 | ||||||||||||
| Area | 1.5 km2 (0.6 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) | ||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | AEDT (UTC+11) | ||||||||||||
| Location | 72 km (45 mi) from Melbourne | ||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Mornington Peninsula | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Nepean | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Flinders | ||||||||||||
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Arthurs Seat is a hill and locality on the Mornington Peninsula, within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula, about 75 km south east of Melbourne, Australia. The Aboriginal Boonwurrung name for the hill is Wonga.
It is a major tourist attraction, owing to its natural bushland, sweeping views and man-made attractions. The hill rises to 314 m (1,030 ft) above sea level.
The underlying rocks are Devonian granite, bounded to the west by the Selwyn Fault. The vegetation consists of dry open forest of mixed eucalypt species, which was extensively burnt during a bushfire in 1973 and again in 1997. The indigenous vegetation on the north-west face has been heavily infested with noxious weed and much of the natural vegetation has been cleared away, although several large stands still remain.
Wonga was home to the Boonwurrung prior to European settlement. The lower slopes of the hill were known as Wango, and were a place where corroborees were held. Three Boonwurrung names have been recorded for this hill: Momo, Wonga and Tubberrubberbil, though the latter is possibly confused with Tubba Rubba creek.
The term Arthurs Seat was first applied to the mountain range, then to a squatting run, next to the pre-emptive right, then to land allotments in the area that is now the suburb McCrae, and currently to the suburb at the summit of the range.
It was named by Acting Lieutenant John Murray when he entered Port Phillip in HMS Lady Nelson (1798) in February 1802, for an apparent resemblance to the hill of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh (which was his home city).
Captain Matthew Flinders climbed Arthurs Seat on 27 April 1802, Noting in His log "The Bluff Mountain on the eastward I estimated at over 1000 feet high, and being near the waterside, possessed a favourable station for observation purposes. I ascend the hill and took an extensive set of bearings from the cleared place to be found on the north western bluff part of the hill." Another notable ascent was in 1844 Sir John Franklin (former Governor of Van Diemen's Land) climbed Arthurs seat with Andrew McCrae (then owner of the McCrae homestead at the foot).
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Wikipedia