Station Pier
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Station Pier is a historic Australian
pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...
on
Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...
, in
Port Melbourne, Victoria Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Port Melbourne recorded a populatio ...
. Opened in 1854, the pier is
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 ...
's primary passenger terminal, servicing interstate
ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...
and
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
s, and is listed on the
Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...
.


History

Station Pier, originally known as Railway Pier, was officially opened on 12 September 1854. The 4.5 kilometre Port Melbourne line from the pier to
Flinders Street station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...
via the
Sandridge Bridge The Sandridge Bridge is a historic bridge, originally carrying a railway, over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs diagonally to the river's banks and is long. In 2006 it was redeveloped as a pedestrian and cycle path fe ...
was opened at the same time to facilitate the transport of passengers and goods, and was the first significant railway in Australia. The pier was kept busy throughout the 1850s, due to the increased passenger traffic created by the
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
. In 1861, the pier was extended to a length of 661 metres, in order to accommodate the ever-increasing traffic associated with the number of people settling in Victoria. In the early part of the 20th century, the original pier was unable to accommodate the new breed of larger and more powerful
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
s. As a result, the current pier was built between 1922 and 1930 and is the largest timber piled wharf structure in Australia. The Stothert and Pitt cranes were erected in 1949 for goods handling. The original supports are still underneath the current pier, chopped down when the replacement was built. The new pier was designed so that passengers landed at the terminals above, while goods traffic moved underneath, in what was quite forward thinking for the 1920s. It has a
wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...
length of 933 metres, and is capable of berthing ships 305 metres long with a draught of 10.3 metres. When originally built the pier had five railway sidings running onto it, as well as a passenger platform on the southern side named 'Bay Excursion Platform', a westward extension of Port Melbourne station. After the pier was rebuilt it was provided with eight tracks, four along each wharf face. The outer eastern end of the new pier was 390 feet east of the outer eastern end of the old pier, to make the new pier exactly parallel with the Prince's Pier. In January 1921 electric passenger services were extended to the platform at the Bay Excursion Pier, two years after electric trains had been extended to Port Melbourne. It was served by two trains per hour Monday to Friday, until their withdrawal in November 1930 as they were not financially rewarding to the
Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...
. From 22 May 1933 passenger services were again extended to Station Pier, but only as required when overseas liners were berthed. The overhead wiring had to be extended beyond the Bay Excursion Platform onto the pier itself. The ''Boat Train'' service was introduced on 7 March 1936 with a single Tait train set painted in blue livery with silver roof. The name was added to the top of each motor car in red letters along with exterior lighting. Operating direct from
Flinders Street station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...
to Station Pier, the service was discontinued in October 1939. In 1934 the Victorian Centenary Bridge was built over the railway lines, carrying Beach Street traffic over the pier railway sidings, as well as providing road access to the centre of the pier. Overhead wiring over half the pier was removed in October 1937, with the remainder unused from 1939 until removal in January 1950. In 1987, the railway line to was closed, and replaced by tram route 109, which runs to Box Hill via the city. The Centenary Bridge was demolished in 1991. The Sandridge Trail runs parallel to the tram line. When refurbished in 1998/99, tram tracks were included in the new concrete decking on the western side for a possible extension of tram route 109.Station Pier Tramway Extension ''
Transit Australia ''Transit Australia'' was a Sydney based monthly magazine covering public transport in Australia and New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmassesâ ...
'' February 2002 pages 54/55
In 2001, the area at the base of the pier was redeveloped to include a boardwalk and a number of new restaurant and cafe buildings, including
3 Station Pier
' and ''Waterfront''. At the end of the pier is
Rex Hunt Rex James Hunt (born 7 March 1949) is an Australian television and radio personality, and a former Australian rules football player. He was also a veteran Australian rules football commentator known for his habit of making up quirky nicknames ...
's ''Delish Fish''.


Infrastructure

Station Pier has four operating berths, two on each side of the
wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...
. Each berth has a maximum
draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
of 10.3 metres. The pier operates 24 hours per day, and open for
pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
access from 6am to 9 pm except when cruise ships or naval ships are visiting. In addition the pier has a central roadway, which allows cars to be driven on to ships capable of carrying them.


References

Victorian Railways signal diagrams:
Victorian Railways Port Melbourne Line. Bridge Street to Piers 1919
* * * * * *


Further reading

*


External links


Trove List

Services at Station Pier

The White Hat Guide to Station Pier
{{coord, -37.8444, 144.9311, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Landmarks in Melbourne Passenger ship terminals Piers in Australia Transport in Melbourne Bass Strait ferries Port Phillip 1854 establishments in Australia Transport buildings and structures in Victoria (Australia) Transport in the City of Port Phillip Buildings and structures in the City of Port Phillip