Once an important Port, a Gaelic word meaning entrance to a Lake. 143km South-east from Melbourne, 9 metres above sea level. An ancient midden discovered in the area is testimony to the seafood diet of the Bunarong Aborigines. The Bonkoolawoola are also thought to have hunted in the region. The first white settler in the district was Samuel Anderson, who discovered the Inlet's existence while exploring the coast after he settled at Bass River in 1835. The area was opened for selection in the 1870s, and Inverloch became a Port for the shipment to Melbourne of black coal, which was mined at nearby Wonthaggi. Shipping activities declined following the development of rail and road transport.