Sorrento, Victoria is known for its beautiful beach, ferry terminal, and of course its pricey—albeit extremely beautiful—houses.
The town stays quiet during the colder months, but keeping the locals warm is new cafe, Buckley, house in what used to be the iconic pancake cafe, Buckley’s Chance on the corner of Melbourne and Ocean Beach Road.
The site had a brief run as The Boss’ Daughter while staying in the family, but has now been taken over by Only Hospitality—who also have Melbourne cafes, Glover’s Station, My Other Brother, Clubhouse, and Winter—who have given the venue a renovation while still keeping the bones and history of the place in tact. Especially when it comes to the downstairs booths that locals have been cramming into for decades.
Buckley’s menu is standard cafe fare done really well, with a nod to Buckley’s Chance in the buttermilk pancakes.
Next time you’re in Sorrento, stop by Buckley for great coffee and a quality feed.
About Sorrento:
Sorrento is a coastal town south of Metropolitan Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia. It is thought that the name ‘Sorrento’ (after the Italian seaside town) was conferred upon what was known as Sullivans Bay when the area was first opened for housing development in 1869.[2]
The Boon wurrung people occupied the area now known as the Mornington Peninsula for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.
In February 1802, Lieutenant John Murray of HMS Lady Nelson led the first British force to enter Port Phillip Bay. Murray chose to anchor Lady Nelson off what is now known as Sorrento Beach. On 17 February the crew landed ashore and were greeted by about 18 local Aboriginals. The crew, with their dinners in hand, showed how they ate bread. While one of the crew was handing out bread to everyone, they were ambushed. In response, several Aboriginal Australians were shot at by musket fire, with three receiving likely mortal wounds. Murray then ordered grapeshot and round shot to be fired from the carronades aboard the ship at the fleeing attackers. This occurred at a place Murray named Bowen’s Point which is now referred to as the Western Sister headland on the Sorrento foreshore. After exploring the southern part of the bay, Murray formally took possession of the area on 8 March 1802 for King George III of Great Britain in a small ceremony at a place now known as the Point King Foreshore Reserve in Sorrento. A few days later Murray sailed out of the heads and returned to Sydney.[3]
In 1803, the British returned and established a convict settlement under the command of Lieutenant Governor David Collins at the Eastern Sister headland of Sullivan Bay in Sorrento. The site became the first British settlement in mainland Australia outside of the Sydney region. Within a few months, the settlement of around 500 people was abandoned and subsequently moved to Hobart in Tasmania. The famous convict, William Buckley, escaped from the Collins Settlement and went on to live with Aboriginal people in the Geelong area for over thirty years.[4]
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