Title

Plate 5: Castle Rock, Cape Schank. [by Eugene von Guérard].

Author

Author not identified

Source

[Not applicable]

Publication date

1868

Type

About the work

Language

English

Country of context

Australia

Full text

Plate 5: Castle Rock, Cape Schank.

The bold and romantic headland which bears this title forms one of the most picturesque "bits" of scenery on the Victorian coast. The rocks have been worn into the most grotesque and fantastic shapes by the action of the waves, which rush in, with a majestic sweep, from the Southern Ocean, and the sides of the precipitous cliffs are perforated with caverns, of which the roof and walls appear to be covered with roughly sculptured images; and the illusion is heightened by the dim light which pervades these cool and moist recesses. Seen at sunset, or during the brief twilight of a summer morning or evening, the Castle Rock might easily be mistaken for a dismantled fortress, connected with the main land by a causeway, which some convulsion of nature had riven in twain. The sand hummocks which skirt the horizon extend to the Heads, and the artist has indicated the entrance of Port Phillip by the position of the steamer faintly visible in the offing. A lighthouse and telegraph station have been established on the summit of the promontory, and the greater part of the land at the Cape forms portion of the estate of Mr. John Barker, one of the earliest settlers in this district.

Accompanying text, 1868.