Port Albert, Victoria
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Port Albert Victoria |
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 Port Albert
Location in Shire of Wellington
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| Coordinates | 38°39′55″S 146°41′18″E / 38.66528°S 146.68833°ECoordinates: 38°39′55″S 146°41′18″E / 38.66528°S 146.68833°E |
| Population | 248 (2006 census) |
| Postcode(s) | 3971 |
| Location | |
| LGA(s) | Shire of Wellington |
| State electorate(s) | Gippsland South |
| Federal Division(s) | Gippsland |
Port Albert is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, on the coast of Corner Inlet on the Yarram - Port Albert Road, 82 kilometres (51 mi) kilometres south-east of Morwell, 236 kilometres (147 mi) kilometres south-east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. At the 2006 census, Port Albert had a population of 248.
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 Alberton and Port Albert in honour of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria.
The Post Office opened on 1 November 1842 as Alberton (it was renamed Port Albert in 1856) and was the fourth to open in the Port Phillip District. 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, many of whom were headed for the Dargo goldfields. 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.
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