Cheetham Wetlands

Cheetham Wetlands is a coastal wetland reserve within Point Cook Coastal Park, about 33 km southwest of Melbourne in Wyndham, Victoria. Part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar site, it comprises former saltworks, salt pans, lagoons and mudflats. It is notable for its international importance for migratory shorebirds and waterbirds and for its industrial heritage as the former Cheetham Salt Works.

Visitors can expect an open, flat coastal wetland landscape of shallow lagoons, salt pans, mudflats and samphire with expansive bay views. Access is via unsealed walking tracks leading to a bird hide overlooking the wetlands for bird observation. The area is quiet and exposed with limited shade. Interpretation signs explain the saltworks history and ecology. Facilities are minimal and the experience is focused on nature observation and walking within Point Cook Coastal Park.

The wetlands occupy the site of the Cheetham Salt Works, established in 1924 by Cheetham Salt Ltd. The extensive network of evaporation ponds and channels produced salt from seawater until operations ceased in the early 1990s. The site was subsequently incorporated into the conservation reserve system and is now part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar site listed in 1982.

Located on the traditional Country of the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation, the coastal wetlands hold Aboriginal cultural heritage values. Today the area is valued for conservation, education and nature-based recreation, representing the transition from industrial salt production to ecological protection.