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Arthurs Seat is the highest point on the Mornington Peninsula, which is located about 80 kilometers south east of Melbourne, Victoria .
In early 1802 the Acting Lieutenant of the 'Lady Nelson' John Murray, named Arthur's Seat for it's resemblance to Arthur's Seat Hill in Edinburgh (Scotland).
The first known European resident of Arthur's Seat was James Chapman. In 1896 he made a track from Dromana to the summit of Arthur's Seat and built a house on the property now known as Seawinds. The track was used daily by his children who used a horse and dray to go to school in Dromana, at the base of Arthur's Seat.
Chapman was a gardner working at Heronswood, Dromana, now a National Trust homestead. He was also involved in supplying timber that was transported to Melbourne by train from Red Hill, a town on the eastern side of Arthur's Seat.
In 1929, Arthurs Seat Tourist Road was built from Dromana to the summit of Arthur's Seat. 1934 saw Arthurs Seat Tower placed on the top of the summit, which was open to the public. 1962 saw the road vastly improved and widened and there were three lookout points placed along the winding steep climb for tourists to take photos and admire the breathtaking views looking out to the You Yang ranges near Geelong across Port Phillip Bay .
Over the years there have been 2 plane crashes at Arthurs Seat. In 1938 an Avro Anson A4-29 of No 2 Squadron of the RAAF was flying in Iow cloud when it crashed into the north western face of Arthur's Seat. And in 1942 a Bristol Beaufort A9 Bomber of the RAAF 100 Squadron flying in mist and Iow cloud just managed to clear the summit of the mountain and crashed into the scrub land south of the lookout tower. In 1995 the Dromana and District Historical Society erected an Aircraft Crash Site Plaque in memory of the lost crew.
The Arthurs Seat Chairlift was built in 1960 by Dr Vladimir Hajek, from the entrance to the Arthur's Seat State Park, near the Mornington Peninsula Freeway, to the summit station, 300 metres above sea level. This is currently not in operation.
In January 1997 with high winds and temperatures over 40 degrees bushfires destroyed much of the bush at Arthurs Seat and many homes had to be evacuated.
Today, tourists flock to Arthurs Seat for the magnificent sweeping views of Port Phillip Bay with the Melbourne City skyline and the You Yang visible on the horizon on a clear day, natural bushland and the many attractions now available in the area. These include Seawinds Gardens, where there are some magnificent sculptures by aboriginal artist William Ricketts, restaurants, The Enchanted Maze, Charlie's Auto Museum and some wonderful walks.
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