Cape Schanck is a locality in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia. It is the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula

The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...

 and separates the wild ocean waters of Bass Strait

Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...

 from the slightly calmer waters of Western Port

Western Port

Western Port, is sometimes called "Western Port Bay", is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in Victoria. Geographically, it is dominated by the two large islands; French Island and Phillip Island. Contrary to its name, it lies to...

.

The most recognisable symbol of Cape Schanck is the Cape Schanck Lighthouse

Cape Schanck Lighthouse

The Cape Schanck lighthouse was built in 1859 as the second coastal lighthouse in Victoria. It is located on the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. The tower was built from limestone, it is 21 metres tall...

. The lighthouse was built in 1859 and was the second lighthouse built in Victoria. A prominent rock outcrop is Pulpit Rock and stands out at the very tip of the cape.

Cape Schanck is also home to the RACV Resort Cape Schanck on Boneo Road which includes an eighteen hole golf course and The National Golf Club on Cups Drive.

British-Australian artist Georgiana McCrae

Georgiana McCrae

Georgiana Gordon McCrae was an Australian painter and diarist.-Early life and family background:Born in London, she was the illegitimate daughter of George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon and Jane Graham. The Marquis of Huntly played little part in her life, as far as can be deduced from Gordon's memoirs...

 produced many of her paintings at Cape Schanck.

History

The location was named in 1800 after Captain John Schank

John Schank

Admiral John Schank was an officer of the British Royal Navy known for his skill in ship construction and mechanical design.-Biography:...

, R.N. by Lieutenant James Grant

James Grant (navigator)

James Grant was a British Royal Navy officer and navigator in the early nineteenth century. He made several voyages to Australia and Tasmania, and was the first to map parts of the south coast of Australia.-Early life:...

 sailing on the Lady Nelson

Lady Nelson

The Royal Navy purchased Lady Nelson in 1799. She spent her career exploring the coast of Australia in the early years of the 19th century. She was the first known vessel to sail eastward through Bass Strait, the first to sail along the South coast of Victoria, as well as the first to enter Port...

.
Shanck had designed the raised keel (or centreboard) on the Lady Nelson.
Nicolas Baudin

Nicolas Baudin

Nicolas-Thomas Baudin was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer.Baudin was born a commoner in Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the Île de Ré. At the age of fifteen he joined the merchant navy, and at twenty joined the French East India Company...

 called it Cap Richelieu when he sailed past on the Géographe

French corvette Géographe

The Géographe was a 20-gun Serpente class corvette of the French Navy.She was named Uranie in 1797, and renamed Galatée in 1799, still on her building site, as her builder refused to launched her, as he had not been paid...

 on 30 March 1802

.

Cape Schanck Post Office opened around March 1879 and closed in 1962.

In 1893 a steamship, the SS Alert

SS Alert

The SS Alert was a steamship that sunk off Cape Schanck, Victoria, Australia on 28 December 1893. The ship was built for the gentle waters of Scottish lochs and was almost long and weighed 247 tonnes....

, sunk off the coast at Cape Schanck during a storm. It was rediscovered after 113 years on the ocean floor in June 2007.

Flora & Fauna

Albatrosses (Black-browed

Black-browed Albatross

The Black-browed Albatross or Black-browed Mollymawk, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae, and it is the most widespread and common albatross.-Taxonomy:...

, Chatham

Chatham Albatross

The Chatham Albatross, Chatham Mollymawk, or Chatham Islands Mollymawk, Thalassarche eremita, is a medium-sized black-and-white albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid, a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the Shy Albatross...

, Yellow-nosed

Yellow-nosed Albatross

Yellow-nosed Albatross may refer to:Birds of genus Thalassarche:* Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, T. chlororhynchos* Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, T. carteri...

 etc.) are occasionally spotted off the cliffs as are Short-tailed Shearwater

Short-tailed Shearwater

The Short-tailed Shearwater or Slender-billed Shearwater , also called Yolla or Moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested...

s (particularly during their spring migration), Black-faced

Black-faced Cormorant

The Black-faced Cormorant , also known as the Black-faced Shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. Upperparts, including facial skin and bill, are black, with white underparts. It is endemic to coastal regions of southern Australia.-Ecology:The Black-faced-Cormorant feeds largely on...

 and Pied Cormorant

Pied Cormorant

The Australia Pied Cormorant , Phalacrocorax varius, also known as the Pied Cormorant or Pied Shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. It is found around the coasts of Australasia. In New Zealand it is usually known either as the Pied Shag or by its Māori name of Karuhiruhi...

s, Kelp Gull

Kelp Gull

The Kelp Gull , also known as the Dominican Gull, breeds on coasts and islands through much of the southern hemisphere. The race L. d. vetula occurs around southern Africa, and nominate L. d...

s and Australasian Gannets. The shrubs decorating the area are frequently home to Brown Thornbill

Brown Thornbill

The Brown Thornbill, Acanthiza pusilla, is a passerine bird usually found in eastern and south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It can grow up to 10 cm long, and feeds on insects....

s, Singing Honeyeater

Singing Honeyeater

The Singing Honeyeater, Lichenostomus virescens is a small bird found in Australia, and is part of the honeyeater family. Although it is common there, it is not very well known in other places....

s and a number of other passerines. The elusive Striated Fieldwren

Striated Fieldwren

The Striated Fieldwren or Calamanthus is a species of bird in the Acanthizidae family, endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

has also been known to inhabit the area.

External links