Wilsons Promontory National Park, National park and nature reserve in Victoria, Australia
Wilsons Promontory National Park is a national park and nature reserve in Victoria, Australia, covering a peninsula at the southernmost point of the Australian mainland. The landscape shifts between tall granite peaks that drop to the ocean, sandy coves with turquoise water, and dense eucalyptus woodland rolling across ridgelines.
Aboriginal communities lived here for tens of thousands of years before European explorers mapped the peninsula in the late 18th century. The area gained protected status as a national park in 1908 and expanded through land acquisitions over the following decades.
The name derives from Thomas Wilson, a prominent merchant in the early 19th century, and the area has carried his title for over two hundred years. Visitors today see signs of Aboriginal presence along coastal paths, where shell middens and tool-making sites speak to millennia of human connection.
Most walking tracks start from the main camping area at Tidal River, where trails of varying length and difficulty lead into different parts of the peninsula. Coastal routes can be demanding in strong wind, while forest paths offer shade even on hot days.
Squeaky Beach on the eastern shore earns its name from fine quartz sand that squeaks underfoot when walked on. Off the southern coast, the largest fur seal colony in Australia lives on rocky islands visible through binoculars from the mainland.
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