derelict homestead now known as Lincoln's Farm, overlooking Point Richards. Baynton also had interests at Cowie's Creek (now Corio), across the Bay. Baynton possibly sold out to John Brown, who is identified as the owner of a Point Richards station in 1847. Other squatters known to have had property around the Portarlington area in the 1840s include William Booth, James Conway Langdon, and William Harding. In 1848 new land regulations were introduced, and the squatters' runs were subdivided into smaller allotments over the following years. By the early 1850s the era of the squatters had passed on the Bellarine Peninsula. Growth of the early township The township of Portarlington was formally surveyed around 1850 and was at that time named Drayton. It was renamed Portarlington in 1851, reportedly in honour of the English peer, Sir Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington. However, it is also suggested, and seems more likely, that owing to the number of early Irish settlers in the area, the town was named after the town in Ireland of the same name (founded by Sir Henry Bennet in 1666). The newly surveyed township was neatly laid out, with broad streets, and planted with English elms and pines. The first sale of town lots took place on 22 October 1851. It was described in the Geelong Advertiser newspaper as a "new township at Indented Head" and buyers were confident that it would quickly become "a place of importance". The first buyers were mainly speculators so, although the lots initially sold well, few purchasers developed their blocks and the town was slow to fill. A steam-powered flour mill opened in 1857. After a competing mill in nearby Drysdale was destroyed by fire in 1861, Portarlington began to develop more rapidly. At that time, the Bellarine Peninsula was regarded as the granary of the Victorian colony. The mill owners built a private jetty, and began receiving grain shipments from Geelong and shipping out the flour and bran produced. A post office opened on 1 March 1863 (known as Port Arlington until about 1866, although that may have been in error). By 1865, the population of Portarlington had passed 200, and the town boasted two hotels and a blacksmith's shop. The Wesleyan congregation, who were the most numerous, built the town's first church in 1866. Before that, they had conducted their services at the mill. The Portarlington Pier was constructed in