Melbourne 1800-1820

The area around Port Phillip Bay has been occupied by the indigenous people for many thousands of years. Our earliest record of European visitation is when Lieutenant John Murray commanding HMS Lady Nelson was the first European party to enter the Bay on the 14th February 1802, and Murray named it Port King in honour of the Governor of New South Wales at the time, Philip Gidley King. Later that year Matthew Flinders surveyed the southern coastline of Australia, including Port Phillip Bay. A more detailed survey of the Bay, including the Yarra, was conducted by Charles Grimes in 1803. Shortly afterwards, Captain David Collins sought to establish a settlement at present-day Sorrento, but that proved unsatisfactory and was abandoned a few months afterwards.