St Leonards is a coastal township near

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

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 ...

, at the eastern end of the

Bellarine Peninsula The Bellarine Peninsula (Wathawurrung: ''Balla-wein'' or ''Biteyong'') is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peni ...

and the northern end of

Swan Bay Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...

. Situated east of Geelong, St Leonards was a filming location for the Australian television series ''

SeaChange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, ...

''. The town is surrounded by

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

wildlife reserves which provide habitat for hundreds of birds, including the critically endangered

orange-bellied parrot The orange-bellied parrot (''Neophema chrysogaster'') is a small parrot endemic to southern Australia, and one of only three species of parrot that migrate. It was described by John Latham in 1790. A small parrot around long, it exhibits sex ...

of which there are less than 200 in the wild. Salt marshes are one of the most biologically productive habitats on the planet, rivalling tropical rainforests. St. Leonards has also just been nominated to have the cleanest beaches in Victoria.

History

The development of St Leonards began as a source of firewood for Melbourne by George Ward Cole in 1855. To further this endeavour required the building of a pier and the town consisted of a hotel, store and six houses in 1858. The first Hotel in St Leonards was established in 1858. The Post Office opened on 19 March 1860. St Leonards State School No. 866 opened in October 1874.

Features

St Leonards is home to good sailing waters, an Esplanade memorial recording the landfalls of

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

in 1802 and

John Batman John Batman (21 January 18016 May 1839) was an Australian grazier, entrepreneur and explorer. He is best known for his role in the founding of Melbourne. Born and raised in the then-British colony of New South Wales, Batman settled in Van Die ...

in 1835, Edwards Point Wildlife Reserve, and bay and pier fishing. In the , St Leonards recorded a population of 2,480 people. This was a significant increase since the , when St Leonards had a population of 2,001. And then 1,600 in . In the Christmas Holidays St Leonards reaches a population of 4,000 people or more It also maintains consistent calm waters as the town's location on the

helps protect it from the bay's typical year round south west winds. Thus whilst large waves may be pounding on the east side of

Port Phillip Bay Port Phillip (Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is completel ...

due to strong south west winds, the water could be rather calm at St Leonards.

Parks

Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park The Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park is a marine protected area located in the vicinity of the bay of Port Phillip, between the Bellarine and Mornington Peninsulas, in Victoria, Australia. The marine national park comprises six separate ...

(Swan Bay section) * Edwards Point Wildlife Reserve * Duck Island * Salt Lagoon State Nature Reserve * St Leonards Lake Reserve

Sport

Golfers play at the course of the St Leonards Golf Club on Ibbotson Street (the golf club moved to new premises at Ibbotson Street in September 2011). Other clubs include the St Leonards Cricket Club, St Leonards Tennis Club, St Leonards Bowling Club, St Leonards Yacht Club, the Bellarine Sharks AFC (2008 GRFA Division 3 League Champions) and formerly from 1985-1994 the St. Leonards Football Club, nicknamed 'The Saints'

References

*Ian WYND, ''Balla-Wien: A History of the Shire of Bellarine'',

Shire of Bellarine The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. ...

(1988).

External links

Edwards Point Wildlife Reserve Parks Victoria

Swan Bay - Port Phillip Heads National Park (Marine)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Leonards Towns in Victoria (Australia) Coastal towns in Victoria (Australia) Bellarine Peninsula Suburbs of Geelong