It is possible that the first European people to come to Warrnambool arrived in the 1500s. There is a wrecked ship in the sand dunes near Warrnambool which historians believe is an early Portuguese ship. It may have been part of an expedition in 1522, led by Christovao Mendonca. The wreck was first seen in 1836, but the last sighting was in 1880. Tt is now covered in sand, and its exact location is now unknown. It is just one of the 80 wrecked ships along the coast. There are 29 wrecks in Lady Bay at Warrnambool. The first recorded exploration of this part of the Victorian coast was by the French explorer Nicholas Baudin in 1802. During the 1830s whaler hunters lived on the coast during the whaling season.