![Balnarring Beach, Victoria, Australia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Balnarring_Beach%2C_Victoria%2C_Australia.jpg)
Balnarring is a town in the south-eastern extremity of the
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geogra ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, approximately south-east of Melbourne's
Central Business District
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
, located within the
Shire of Mornington Peninsula
The Shire of Mornington Peninsula is a local government area in southeastern Metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located to the south of the Melbourne City Centre. It has an area of 724 square kilometres and in June 2018 it had a ...
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
. Balnarring recorded a population of 2,371 at the
2021 census.
[
Balnarring is located about halfway between ]Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
and Flinders
Flinders may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula
Australia New South Wales
* Flinders County, New South Wales
* Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour
* Flinders, New South Wa ...
.
History
Early reports of the area suggested the region was "thick with honeysuckle and sheoak
The Casuarinaceae are a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of four genera and 91 species of trees and shrubs native to eastern Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, Malesia, Papuasia, and the Pacific ...
", and that the area from Somers to Point Leo
Point Leo is a small coastal village on the shore of Western Port bay on the eastern side of the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Morning ...
contained "good soil, good grass, and open forest timbered with Gums wattle and She Oak trees". Early settlers were involved in wattle bark stripping and cutting piles and sleepers for shipping to Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
via Shoreham to the southwest.
From 1857 onwards, the Government enacted a series of Land Acts designed to open the land, dividing it into small blocks and hoping to create a living for small-scale farmers. The Parish of Balnarring was surveyed in 1865, as part of the "Agricultural Area of Mount McMahon". Most of the selectors were orchardists although dairymen also took an interest in the area. In the 1920s, the construction of cool stores at Red Hill increased their ability to trade their produce with the outside world.
In 1866, a post office opened, and a school shortly afterwards, and in 1869, an inn and store called the Tower Hotel operated by the Van Suylens on their property, "Warrawee", was established to serve local residents on the Frankston-Flinders road. This and the Sandy Point Road had already been established as tracks, as indicated on an 1874 map of the area. An 1891 map shows a blacksmith's store where the panel beater
Panel beater or panelbeater is a term used in some Commonwealth countries to describe a person who repairs vehicle bodies back to their factory state after having been damaged (e.g., after being involved in a collision). In the United States an ...
s operation presently stands at this intersection.
A writer in 1902 described Balnarring as a "little wayside hamlet on the road between Hastings and Flinders....probably one of the least pretentious in the state. It consists chiefly of a state school, but there are a few buildings within sight of the main road". In 1962, the Victorian Municipal Directory stated Balnarring had a "post and telegraph office, two churches, mechanics' institute and library".
The railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
in Balnarring opened on 2 December 1921 but, like its Red Hill branch line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industri ...
, was relatively short-lived, officially closing on 29 June 1953. However, it was kept in service for annual local events until about 10 years after the closure.
On 23 August 1899, the Balnarring Mechanics' Institute was opened by the Hon. F.S. Grimwade ( MLC North Yarra, 1891–1904). It was a timber hall, used as a community hall and social centre by the community until the 1960s. A new hall was built in 1969. In 1970 the Mechanics' Institute building burned down, and in 1979 a reserve was declared in its original location.
Present day
Balnarring is at the crossroads of two primary main roads in the south-eastern region of the Mornington Peninsula, namely Frankston-Flinders Road and Balnarring Road (from Mornington), and as a result is home to a few motels, a post office and several shops and cafes including a Ritchies Supa IGA supermarket. It also has a primary school, Balnarring Primary School.
Balnarring has a picnic horse racing club, the Balnarring Picnic Racing Club (established in 1863), which schedules around six race meetings a year including the
Balnarring Cup meeting on Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...
(26 January) at the Emu Plains racecourse and recreation reserve.
The Emu Plains Market which operates monthly in summer at the same location is very popular with locals and tourists.
Balnarring is served by the 782 bus route operated by Ventura Bus Lines
Ventura Bus Lines is a large bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, operating a fleet of 893 buses on 141 bus routes, including 2 SmartBus routes and 2 V/Line services. It commenced operations in December 1924.
History Ea ...
between Frankston and Flinders.
See also
* Shire of Hastings
The Shire of Hastings was a local government area about south-southeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, encompassing the eastern extremity of the Mornington Peninsula. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1 ...
– Balnarring was previously within this former local government area.
References
External links
Balnarring
(Western Port Tourism)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balnarring, Victoria
Mornington Peninsula
Western Port