Description
Early engraved view of Warrnambool by S.T.Gill.
The area was frequented by whalers early in the 19th century. Matthew Flinders sailed the coast in the Investigator, and Captain Grant in the Lady Nelson also explored the area. The first settlers arrived in the 1840s in the Lady Bay area, which was a natural harbour. During the Victorian Gold Rush, Warrnambool became an important port and grew quickly in the 1850s. Warrnambool was declared a town in 1883, and a city in 1918.
