Prior to a bridge being built across to Phillip Island, a two car, and later a six car punt transported vehicles and livestock across the Eastern Passage.
And punting across was by no means an easy feat.
When loaded, the unwieldy flat bottomed vessels, towed by  launch, often needed a deal of pushing by the crew in sea boots, to coax it into water deep enough to float.
For landing there was a concrete roadway on the beach at both sides.
Approaching, the launch would make a burst of speed; swing quickly out of the way; and depend on good luck and momentum to land the punt safely.
All went well on a good day!
But high winds and swift currents played havoc, with damaged vehicles and angry passengers to be dealt with.
The queueing system was strictly enforced, and especially on race days.
One day, in 1938, a load of cows, heifers and calves, plus two bulls, came to grief.
Midstream, the bulls began to fight. The punt railings broke. The cows, heifers and calves fell into the sea. This caused the punt to list to starboard. And the two bulls slithered in. The mob reached shore safely.
However, one bull came ashore at Newhaven, while the other headed to San Remo.
Mobs of cattle were common freight, and good horsemen and trained dogs were required to get them on board.
It was a difficult job to drive cattle from the open beach at Newhaven on to the punt.
Jack Leeson, and his father before him, were experts, as were others over a long period of years.
Josua Gliddon, in his book Phillip Island in Picture and Story, relates the story of a time when a “big roan steer” stampeded with the rest of the  large mob on board at his heels.
They headed for the open end of the punt, and plunged headlong into the sea.
The channel became a bristling mass of horned heads and snorting sneers. The animals swam and landed in all directions. It took half a day in boats and on horseback to get them on board again.
On another occasion, a party of revellers drove aboard the punt. And then reversed quickly to the stern, climb the incline of the tailboard, balance precariously and then splash. Into the water it went.
The first thing to surface was a bottle. And then the passengers one by one.
There were a number of mishaps with passengers over the years which could have ended tragically, Josua Gliddon records, but the presence of mind of the punt’s skipper and crew saved the day in all instances.