Cowes is the main township on Phillip Island in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is about two hours' drive from Melbourne and ca…Cowes is the main township on Phillip Island in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is about two hours' drive from Melbourne and can also be reached by coach, or passenger ferry from Stony Point on the Mornington Peninsula. Cowes is located on the northern side of Phillip Island and faces towards French Island and the Mornington Peninsula. At the 2021 census, Cowes had a population of 6,593.