Like much of the Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula, the Wathaurong people lived in the Indented Head and St Leonards area well before Europeans discovered this part of the world. Explorer Matthew Flinders landed in the area in 1802 and named the whole peninsula Indented Head.
John Batman, the founder of Melbourne, and his party lived in the area for a short time whilst looking for an ideal location for what was to become Melbourne. He is said to have landed in Indented Head but moved more towards St Leonards as there was fresh water available. Today a stone memorial in the parkland along the Esplanade near Indented Head commemorates his stay.
Around the 1840’s a few people settled around St Leonards and they were believed to be of Chinese origin. These first settlers chose the area for the rich fishing in the region, but many of them moved on to seek their fortune in the gold rush during the 1850s. After the gold rush people started coming back to the region for fishing and farming. Wheat soon became a popular crop in the area around this time.
The region received a bit of growth by the 1920’s with the service of paddle steamers to nearby towns and the start of motorised transport. Soon the area became popular as a camping destination which it has remained till this day with large campsites along the foreshore.
St Leonards was given its name from St Leonards Station, a pastoral farm in the area which was named after a town bearing the same name in Sussex, England. Firewood became a major source of income for the towns, and today, other than a few hectares of native timber close to Ocean Grove, there is no original bushlands on the entire peninsula.
The area around Indented Head and St Leonards gained major exposure during the late 1990’s with the ABC Television series SeaChange. This quirky comedy drama featured much of the local landscape and many buildings of St Leonards. Crowded House also used the beach along the foreshore for one of their videos gaining world-wide exposure.
Today St Leonards and Indented Head are seaside getaways for the hundreds who visit the area in the summer and the countess retirees or people who want to have their own sea change. Many locals have chosen to escape the hustle and bustle of the cities and enjoy the tranquility and fresh sea breezes that these two townships have to offer. So many people visit down this way, relax and just don’t want to leave; it’s just so hard to believe there is such a place so close.
