172. Homestead Point - Prograding Beach

This information has been developed from one or more of these publications:

Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in the Westernport Bay Catchment (1984) by Neville Rosengren.
Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in the Western Region of Melbourne (1986) by Neville Rosengren
Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance on the Coast of Port Phillip Bay (1988) by Neville Rosengren.
Sites of Environmental Significance in the Flood Plain of the Upper Yarra Valley Region (1983) by Neville Rosengren, Douglas Frood and Kim Lowe (as part of a study of Sites of Environmental Significance by the University of Melbourne for the then Upper Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Authority).

Geological heritage sites, including sites of geomorphological interest and volcanic heritage sites, are under regular revision by the Geological Society of Australia, especially in the assessment of significance and values. Reference should be made to the most recent reports. See the Earth Science Heritage section of the Geological Society of Australia website (external link) for details of geological heritage reports, and a bibliography.

Location:	Woolamai – 560351. 1 km south-west of New Haven.	Prograding beach ridges (A) enclosing the Newhaven Swamp, Site 172
Access:	Bridge View Drive.
Ownership:	Crown land.
Geology/Geomorphology:	Homestead Point is an outcrop of deeply weathered Older Volcanics with strong ferruginization of the joint planes and development of large clay clasts. North of the point a former embayment (marked by a bluff 150 m inland) is now enclosed by beach ridges which enclose the (generally dry) Newhaven Swamp. The beach is distinctive for the sequence of prograding beach ridges over 100 m wide developing at the southern end. The outermost ridge is broad and low with a cover of Spinifex, Agropyron and to a lesser extent Ammophila.
Significance:	State. The coast is a major example of a prograding sandy beach ridge shoreline. It is one of the few such sectors on the Victorian coast and is particularly significant as it is not related to an adjacent artificial structure.
Management:	Class 2. Extension of the caravan park (in the north of the site) along the coast should not be permitted. Vehicles should be prohibited from the dune area and no harbour facilities should be constructed between The Narrows bridge and Manuka Point. The New haven Swamp should be managed as a wildlife reserve and public access restricted to a footpath from Bridge View Road to Homestead Point, to avoid excessive damage to the area by unrestricted vehicle use.

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