Wilsons Promontory, southernmost point of the Australian mainland. It lies in Victoria, about 110 miles (175 km) southeast of Melbourne.
The peninsula, composed of granite, is 22 miles long with a maximum width of 14 miles. It projects into Bass Strait and is almost an island, being linked to the mainland by beach ridges. From a spectacular scenic 80-mile (130-km) coastline, it rises to a mountainous interior; its highest point is Mount Latrobe, at 2,475 feet (754 metres). There is a lighthouse at its southern tip. The vegetative cover, which tends toward the xerophytic (i.e., adapted to a dry climate) on the west, is periodically swept by fires.
The promontory was visited in 1798 by the English explorer George Bass and was first called Furneaux Land, named for a crew member on the second expedition (1772) of Captain James Cook. It was later renamed for Thomas Wilson, an English merchant. In 1905 the entire promontory was made a national park. The area is notable for its beaches, fern gullies, more than 700 species of plants, and a variety of animals, including emus, koalas, and wombats. Tourist access is gained with some difficulty via the South Gippsland Highway.