Merricks 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. Geo ...

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, approximately south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, 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 ...

local government area. Merricks recorded a population of 184 at the 2021 census. Merricks is located 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.

History

Merricks was part of the Parish of

Balnarring Balnarring is a town in the south-eastern extremity of the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, approximately south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local go ...

and is believed to be named after an early cattle station owner. It was first settled in 1865 by John Caldwell, who built "Koonoona", a wattle cottage. Unlike Balnarring and Hastings, Merricks's early settlers preferred running cattle and sheep to growing orchards. In 1902 a post office opened which was served by

Cobb and Co Cobb & Co was the name used by many successful sometimes quite independent Australian coaching businesses. The first was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name Cobb & Co grew to great prominence in the late 19t ...

from Crib Point; this closed in 1979. In 1920, a co-operative cool store was built in nearby Red Hill, and from 1921 until 1953, a railway from

Bittern Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern ...

to Red Hill travelled through Merricks, although it received little use after its initial decade of service. A small primary school was also opened in 1921, closing in 1951 along with several others in the region when Red Hill Consolidated School commenced. The Victorian Municipal Directory in 1962 stated that Merricks contained "(only) a general store and post and telegraph office".

Present day

Merricks is a tiny settlement along the Frankston-Flinders Road which has changed little over the years from its earlier rural functions, and many of the original settler houses still stand today. It features a newly restored General Store (built in 1927) incorporating a post office and newsagency, the Peninsula Quarter Horse Association's base and a chocolate factory. Also in Merricks are th
Merricks Creek
vineyard specialising in pinot noir production an
Stoniers Winery
(1978) producing chardonnay and pinot noir. A 6.3 km mostly tree-lined horse riding trail, established by the former Shire of Hastings in the mid-1980s along a disused railway route, runs roughly east–west from Merricks Station Ground Reserve to Red Hill through mostly rural land between the Coolart and East Creeks. Merricks 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.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merricks, Victoria Towns in Victoria (Australia) Mornington Peninsula Western Port Coastal towns in Victoria (Australia)

History

Present day

See also

References