Sandstone Island is a small island located approximately one kilometre southeast of the Hastings foreshore in

Western Port Western Port, ( Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it ...

, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Sandstone Island has an area of approximately 19

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...

and is adjacent to Jacks Beach. The island is situated in an area where significant

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

communities exist. The Island is quite devoid of significant vegetation, however its location in an environmentally significant area in Western Port, places particular emphasis on ensuring appropriate use and development on the Island. The island has been owned by a group of private Sydney buyers . Like French Island, Sandstone Island is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

under the direct administration of the government of Victoria, and both are subject to the French Island and Sandstone Island Planning Scheme.

Ownership history

Since the 1990s the island has been owned by a

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

of five

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

families, who used it both as an investment and as a weekend holiday location. It was listed for sale in 2015 for $5 million, and then again in 2018, but failed to sell both times. In November 2021, the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'' reported that it had been sold off-the-market to buyers from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

for between $5.6 million and $6 million.

References

Unincorporated areas of Victoria (state) Islands of Victoria (state) Western Port Mornington Peninsula {{Gippsland-geo-stub