Wilsons Promontory National Park

The Prom is one of Victoria’s most-loved places. At the southernmost tip of mainland Australia, it offers spectacular scenery of huge granite mountains, open forest, rainforest, sweeping beaches and coastlines. Great bushwalks extend from under an hour to over three days. Visitors can camp, caravan or stay in huts, cabins, wilderness retreats or lodges at Tidal River where there is a general store and take-away food shop. Wilsons Promontory Lightstation is perched on a small peninsula jutting into the wild seas of Bass Strait. The waters surrounding the Prom are protected as a marine national park and marine park and offer outstanding diving. Wilsons Promontory National Park has an early history of Aboriginal occupation with archaeological records dating back at least 6500 years. The Prom had (and still has) spiritual significance for different Aboriginal groups, who knew the area as Yiruk or Wamoon. The area was a valuable food source, particularly in summer. Aboriginal people may have used the Prom, which was then part of a 'land bridge', to reach Tasmania during past Ice Ages. Today, local Aboriginal communities are active in establishing cultural and spiritual links with the park and in undertaking park management activities.