Shack Bay, Inverloch

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Shack Bay is between Inverloch and Cape Paterson on the Cape Patterson Road. Its name came from the coal miner's shacks built there during their five-month-long strike at the nearby Wonthaggi Coal Mine in 1934. The shacks were removed in 1977.


A roadside sign points to a small off-road car park for Shack Bay. It is part of the Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park.


Stretching along the Bass Coast from San Remo to Inverloch, Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park is a varied landscape of dramatic cliffs, sandy coves, wetlands and underwater reefs that are home to unique flora and fauna. This area is the traditional land and hunting grounds of the Bunurong people.


Along Cape Patterson Road there are numerous places where one or two cars can park and view the coastal scenery. At one such stop near Shack Bay, another motorist was watching a group of birds flocking off-shore. He said they were terns and I caught several diving vertically into the sea to fetch their lunch. Fascinating.


The Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park combine 40kms of coastal reserves from San Remo to Inverloch, to better protect the natural and cultural heritage of this stretch of Bunurong Country while improving access, facilities and recreation opportunities.


From the car park, a series of steps leads you to the beach.


Although the steps descend through dense shrubs and bushes some spectacular coastal scenery is revealed as you descend.




The most spectacular is the distant view of Eagles Nest as you look past a series of jutting headlands.


As you approach sea level the flat area where the miner's shacks were built become obvious. The access to the site and transporting of building materials would have been hazardous. Apart from the financial hardships, it would have been a beautiful place to sit out a strike.




If the steps back to road level become too much, just pause, turn and admire the view for a few minutes, and then the climb won't seem so formidable.




Shack Bay is just one of the many scenic spots along the road, each one worth a visit.

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