Cape Paterson

Cape Paterson is a cape and seaside village located near the town of Wonthaggi, 132km south-east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Known originally for the discovery of coal by William Hovell in 1826, it is now extremely popular for its beaches and rockpool and at the 2011 census, it had a population of 718.Cape Paterson has six beaches.Cape Paterson was named by Lieut. James Grant in 1801 to honour explorer Lieut. Col. William Paterson, second in command of the Botany Bay (Sydney) battalion.TodayCape Paterson is a small town near the larger town of Wonthaggi. It is a popular tourist destination and has a large influx of campers during the summer months. Fishing is very popular there.Cape Paterson has 2 local surf lifesaving clubs. One is called Wonthaggi life saving club and is located at the Bay. Not Cape Paterson life saving club.RockpoolSafety Beach near Cape Paterson caravan park on Surf Beach Road is popular as it has a modified rockpool for swimming. The rockpool was built by miners in the 1960s, at a time when the environment was less of a priority in Australia