Do you love visiting the coast?
Would you like to delve deeper into nature and history?
These books are for you.
Coastal Guide Books' most recent publication:
Coastal guide to nature and history 3: western Victoria
covering Point Lonsdale to the South Australian border
ISBN: 9780992321734 paperback 186 pp. 234mm x 152mm RRP: $35
Also available:
Coastal guide to nature and history: Port Phillip Bay
ISBN: 9780992321703 paperback 172 pp. 234mm x 152mm RRP: $30
and
Coastal guide to nature and history 2: Mornington Peninsula's ocean shore, Western Port,
Phillip Island & French Island
ISBN: 9780992321727 paperback 168 pp. 234mm x 152mm RRP: $30
by Graham Patterson
Whether you are on holiday, walking, or just visiting the coast for a short outing, these books will enrich your appreciation of what you see. They will tell you about the plants and animals you may encounter, the way geology influences coastal landforms and the history of each stretch of the coast.
The first European invaders in Victoria came ashore at Portland, and began their devastating impact on the indigenous people. There are fascinating examples of human enterprise such as the early whaling enterprises, and coastal industries such as a pioneering cement factory at Mornington in the 1860s, early salt works on French Island, a depot at Altona for exporting explosives, and the earliest tourism operations.
There are big geological events: Australia's separation from
Antarctica and its effect on the Victorian coastline, the creation
of the bays and their repeated filling and emptying over millions of years, and the volcanic formation of much of the coast.
Coastal guide is not confined to popular destinations: these three books take you kilometre by kilometre around the entire coastline from San Remo to the South Australian border. The author has walked these 1000 kilometres (as well as the rest of the Victorian coast to NSW) and has researched the stories which lie behind the features you will see.
Some parts of the coast are not easy to reach and the maps and advice in these books will help you find them.