Welcome to Cannon Hill, the original site of the cannons now located at Flagstaff Hill. From here you can enjoy a panoramic view of Lady Bay. The large white stone cross at the eastern end is a replica Portuguese Padrao, placed to commemorate the legend of the Mahogany Ship, a wreck sighted high up in the sand dunes west of here during the 1830s and 40s and believed to be a wreck of a Portuguese exploration in the early C16th. The monument is flanked by the busts of Prince Henry the Navigator and Vasco da Gama. By the 1880s the wreck had disappeared under the shifting sands and local efforts are still being made to locate it.
Below this hill is Lake Pertobe. Until the 1970s this 58 ha park was a malodorous swamp. In early years the high tides regularly flooded across the flat beach and into the lake. With the completion of the breakwater in 1890 and work to build up the dune structure in the mid-20th century the land developed into the caravan parks and carparks and open space which beachgoers enjoy today.
Lake Pertobe is now a haven for birdlife and the extensive playground is popular with children of all ages.