Arthurs Seat trip planner

Arthurs Seat is a hill and locality on the Mornington Peninsula, within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula, about 75 km south east of Melbourne, Australia. The Aboriginal Boonwurrung name for the hill is Wonga.It is a major tourist attraction, owing to its natural bushland, sweeping views and man-made attractions. The hill rises to 314m above sea level.The underlying rocks are Devonian granite, bounded to the west by the Selwyn Fault. The vegetation consists of dry open forest of mixed eucalypt species, which was extensively burnt during a bushfire in 1973 and again in 1997. The indigenous vegetation on the north-west face has been heavily infested with noxious weed and much of the natural vegetation has been cleared away, although several large stands still remain.HistoryWonga was home to the Boonwurrung prior to European settlement. The lower slopes of the hill were known as Wango, and were a place where corroborees were held. Three Boonwurrung names have been recorded for this hill: Momo, Wonga and Tubberrubberbil, though the latter is possibly confused with Tubba Rubba creek.The term Arthurs Seat was first applied to the mountain range, then to a squatting run, next to the pre-emptive right, then to land allotments in the area that is now the suburb McCrae, and currently to the suburb at the summit of the range.It was named by Acting Lieutenant John Murray when he entered Port Phillip in in February 1802, for an apparent resemblance to the hill of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh (which was his home city).