The Wilsons Promontory National Park, commonly known as Wilsons Prom or The Prom, is a national park in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, located approximately southeast of Melbourne.
The national park is the southernmost national park on mainland Australia, known for its rainforests, beaches and abundant wildlife. The national park covers the southern portion of Wilsons Promontory, a peninsula containing South Point, the southernmost point on the Australian mainland, and a number of islands. A lighthouse on the south-east corner of the peninsula is the southernmost lighthouse on mainland Australia and has operated continuously since 1859.
The Park is highly popular with bushwalkers and campers, and has a number of lodges and serviced camping near the mouth of Tidal River as well as a number of hike-in camping areas catering for bushwalkers.
History
The first Europeans to sight Wilsons Promontory are believed to be George Bass and Matthew Flinders in 1798.
Extensive sealing took place at Sealer's Cove during the 19th Century, such that seals are no longer found there.
Lobbying by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) and the Royal Society of Victoria (including Arthur Henry Shakespeare Lucas) led to the Victoria State Government temporarily reserving the area as National Park in 1898, made permanent in 1908. The original settlement in the Park was on the Darby River site, where a chalet existed. The FNCV has maintained a watching brief over the promontory for over 120 years.
The Wilsons Promontory was used as commando training area during World War II. A memorial to commandos who lost their lives in World War II is located at Tidal River.
A large section of the park was burnt out in April 2005 by a bushfire caused by a controlled burn that breached containment lines because of warmer and windier conditions than were forecast for that day, causing the evacuation of six-hundred people.
During the Black Saturday Fires of February 2009 throughout Victoria, trees in the Wilsons Promontory were struck by lightning, which then led to the loss of up to 50% of the national park through major fire damage.
Camping
Tidal River is the main location for accommodation and camping in Wilsons Promontory National Park. Tidal River Campground has 484 camping and caravan sites (including twelve powered sites) situated near the beach and river. There are also eleven remote walk-in sites located within the park.
Tidal River camping ground is nestled in sand dunes behind Norman Bay, on the western side of the peninsula.