Grantville

History

Historically, Grantville belonged to the Indigenous Boonwurrung people, who lived around Grantville and the surrounding area for thousands of years before European settlement. Grantville was probably named by surveyor Edmund Colbert in 1870 after James McPherson Grant, MLA, a lawyer who was a member of Parliament from 1855 to 1885, president of the board of lands and works and commissioner of crown lands and survey from September 1864 to May 1868. Although generally accepted, there is no evidence that Grantville is named after Lieutenant James Grant, who had sailed the Lady Nelson into Western Port in 1801 . Grantville was established as a supply port situated on the east coast of Western Port. Sawmills were soon built and Grantville took a turn to become a town centered on timber. Short tramways were constructed between the sawmills and the jetty. Ships arriving at the jetty would bring in supplies for the locals and the land selectors further out in the Gippsland hills, and on their return voyage they carried timber to Melbourne. The town fell into decline after the closure of the last of the sawmills in the early 1900s however 60 years on saw a new industry emerge around sand extraction for the production of concrete, this activity has revitalized the town which has seen an influx of new residents, and of new home construction.

Most-observed species

• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  4,685
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  4,097
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  3,710
• Pacific Gull

  Larus pacificus Latham, 1801 · Aves
  3,540
• Australian Ibis

  Threskiornis molucca (Cuvier, 1829) · Aves
  3,450
• Black Swan

  Cygnus atratus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  3,321
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  2,845
• Australian Pelican

  Pelecanus conspicillatus Temminck, 1824 · Aves
  2,832

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2026-05-09
  4 km ESE of Mirboo North, Australia
• M 4.3 — 2024-02-08
  3 km E of Leongatha, Australia
• M 2.9 — 2021-11-05
  4 km S of Rosebud, Australia
• M 2.8 — 2015-03-10
  3 km NNE of Pakenham, Australia
• M 3.6 — 2014-12-03
  4 km SW of Pakenham, Australia
• M 2.8 — 2014-01-13
  1 km SSE of Lilydale, Australia