Step inside Warraweena House

In June 1839, John Fawkner was advertising Nepean lime for sale in Melbourne. Lime was transported on small lighters to boats moored out in the channel between Sorrento Pier and the Baths. Later it became common to build kilns on the foreshore where bagged processed lime could be run out on small jetties to lime craft.

Limestone was not only an important industry on the Nepean Peninsula it has also had a lasting impact on the heritage of the area with small cottages, large public buildings, schools, hotels and mansions built from local limestone. Nepean limestone is a tradition on the Nepean Peninsula with two distinct styles of limestone construction; all-limestone and limestone with red brick quoining. Local builders developed great skills and techniques in designing and building with the local limestone.

By the 1860s the Nepean Peninsula was recognised as not only a sublimely beautiful landscape with easy access to the Bay and the Ocean, but as a place for holidaying and respite from Melbourne.

As early as 1868 George Selth Coppin (1819-1906) was planning to develop Sorrento township, foreshore and back beach as a place for tourists. He purchased 225 acres and subdivided it into small allotments for shops and houses. By 1874 he had established his own steamship company and later a steam tramway.

In the late 1870’s, Sorrento was transformed into a popular Victorian holiday destination. Led by local entrepreneur and visionary George Coppin, a pier and paddle steamer were built to transport tourists from Melbourne with ease.

By the 1890s Sorrento township and Ocean Beach Road had begun to develop with new facilities such as a Mechanics Institute and shops. On the west side of Ocean Beach Road, opposite the Continental Hotel was Stringers Stores, the Athenaeum Theatre, and the Oriental Coffee Palace. Between 1900 and 1910 a number of buildings were constructed on both sides of Ocean Beach Road, to provide accommodation and retail services. Along Melbourne Road, Hotham Road and in East Sorrento, a large number of permanent and holiday homes were constructed in this period, as were schools and businesses.

Another influential developer of Sorrento was Charles Gavan Duffy (1816-1903), who developed 600 acres with his neighbour W.Cockburn, for gentleman’s cliff-top villas, of which many still line the edge of the Bay. The Bella Vista Estate created the unusual alignment of Point Nepean Road and reserved Sorrento Park.

Sorrento is not only the first European settlement on mainland Australia, it is also home to Victoria’s earliest magistrates’ court, public hospital, government printing office, postal service and Post Office, which opened10th January 1871.

The first Victorian wedding, christening and funeral services were also held at Sullivan Bay. The first settlement site overlooking Sullivan Bay, includes graves believed to be of first settlers.

In the early 20th century, development of Sorrento was impacted by the closure of the steam tramway and steamer services and the rise of the motor car tourist. Construction of holiday homes and weekenders steadily increased in the Inter-war period and then again in the Post-World War II years. A major building wave began in the Inter-War period, with the replication of suburban styles in the streets of Sorrento and Portsea. The later part of this period, after World War II, saw some modernist designs for holiday homes resulting in a new trend of modernist beach houses by innovative designers for a wealthy clientele.

The influence of modernist architecture in the Post-War period was felt not only among architects but influenced the local tradition of beach shacks through the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Even small fibro beach shacks borrowed design elements from architectural Modernism, to achieve a simplicity of living and relaxed form.

The town has a number of grand historic homes and hotels which date back to the 1860s, almost all of which have been constructed with local limestone. The Mechanics Institute, Sorrento was built in 1877 using local limestone and the building, which is now classified by the National Trust of Australia, houses the Nepean Historical Society's museum. Other notable limestone buildings still standing include: Sorrento Hotel (1872), Anglican Church (1875 nave, 1889 transept), Athenaeum Theatre (1894), Continental Hotel (1875), and Whitehall Guest House (1904).

The Sorrento Park, established in 1870, contains a variety of trees, including an Aleppo Pine, grown from the seed of the Lone Pine of Gallipoli.

Today, Sorrento’s rich history lives on in the beautiful Victorian-style limestone buildings, shops, hotels and cafes lining Ocean Beach Road.