Port Welshpool is Australia's most southerly mainland town and located 204km southeast of Melbourne. Port Welshpool is one of three main ports located around Corner Inlet, in South Gippsland. Port Welshpool has a population 243.

Whalers first used the area as early as the 1830s. The town was gazetted as Welshpool in 1851, and was officially renamed Port Welshpool in 1952. The town built a long jetty for loading and unloading fish catches, cattle and timber. The arrival of the railway in 1891 allowed the local produce to be transported to Melbourne for sale.

Fishers in the early days used wooden boats with two pointed ends. Cotton nets, with sisal ropes and corks as floats were used from these boats using sails and oars. The fish were sent to Melbourne on the train packed in wooden boxes with ice to keep them fresh.

Inlet fishers today use fast high-powered aluminium boats averaging 7 metres in length. The fishing gear used today is made from synthetic materials polyester or polyethylene. The fish are sent daily to the Melbourne market by refrigerated road transport in plastic bins with ice.

As well as fishing in the embayment of Corner Inlet, fishers living in Port Welshpool target southern rock lobster and sharks. Rock lobster fishing started in the 1930s. During World War II catching sharks using longlines started. Today there are three rock lobster boats that fish outside the Inlet. There are five shark-fishing vessels based at Port Welshpool.

Port Welshpool relies on fishing as one of the main industries along with tourism and the oil industry in Bass Strait. There are 35 individuals who currently fish from Port Welshpool. A further eight people are employed on land in processing, packaging and distribution.

Port Welshpool has a deep-sea port that is open to coastal shipping. Vessels with a draught (depth under the water) up to 5.5 metres can use the port. Welshpool has many visiting vessels each year due to its geographic position and accessibility in all weather conditions. A fast car and passenger ferry used to leave from the Port Welshpool wharf to George Town in Tasmania during 1993.

An unfortunate event in town's history was the beaching of 300 whales in 1957 that attracted about 10,000 people to the township.