16 June
2006 - The Treasurer announced today that Point
Nepean has been included on the prestigious National
Heritage List in recognition of the site's outstanding
heritage value to the nation.
Point Nepean in Victoria has
played an important role in Australia's coastal
defences and quarantine protection. The National
Heritage Listing, combined with the announcement
today of an additional $27 million Australian
Government funding for the protection and rehabilitation
of Point Nepean, will ensure that future generations
will be able to better use and enjoy the precinct.
Point Nepean is renowned for
its historic features, outstanding coastal scenery
and panoramic views of Bass Strait, the Rip and
Port Phillip Bay. The site has also played a vital
role in our nation's defence against the dual
threats of disease and foreign attack for over
a hundred years.
In 1852 Point Nepean opened
as a maritime quarantine reserve to prevent the
outbreak of serious diseases such as cholera,
typhoid and small pox that otherwise would have
decimated the population.
In addition to its role as a
quarantine station the area's line of fortified
defences contributed to Melbourne being known
at the end of the nineteenth century as the 'best
defended commercial city in the British Empire'.
This claim was tested in World
War I with the first shot fired by Australian
forces in the conflict, when the German steamer
Pfalz was prevented from departing Port Phillip
Bay.
The site has also played an
important social role in our nation's heritage
and is enmeshed in Australia's migration history.
Within a year of the first discovery of gold in
Victoria in 1851, around 100,000 people arrived
in the colony by sea. The Quarantine Station became
the first point of contact for thousands of migrants,
seeking a new home on Australia's shores.
The Minister for the Environment
and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell made the decision
to include Point Nepean as the 30th place to be
included on the National Heritage List. Other
outstanding places include the Australian War
Memorial in Canberra, the Sydney Opera House,
Port Arthur in Tasmania and Fremantle Prison in
Western Australia. / Marianne McCabe (Senator
Campbell's Office) / Renae Stoikos (Treasurer's
Office)
