Portsea is a seaside suburb on the
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located in the south of Greater Melbourne, Victoria (state), 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 ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Victoria,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, approximately south-west of Melbourne's
Central Business District
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center 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 wit ...
, located within the
Shire of Mornington Peninsula 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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
. Portsea recorded a population of 787 at the
2021 census.
[
Portsea is located on the opposite 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 comple ...
. The suburb is located on the bay itself, but the locality boundaries stretch as far west as Point Nepean and incorporate a section of Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...
coastline. Portsea is the westernmost town on the Mornington Peninsula, and lies adjacent to Sorrento
Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...
. It has one of the highest average incomes in Australia.
History
Portsea is named after Portsea Island
Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. The island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth.
Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all the i ...
which is an island incorporated by Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, England. Portsmouth is where the first settlers
A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
to Australia set sail from. Portsea Post Office opened on 10 February 1877 and closed in 1987.
In January 1948 the new St Mary's School for Deaf Children was opened at Delgany, Portsea led by Kathleen Mary Egan. It was an initiative by the Dominican Sisters of Eastern Australia and the first to use oral techniques in Victoria.
OCS Portsea, an army establishment, was located just outside the town. The historic reserve became famous when Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt disappeared while swimming inside the facility at Cheviot Beach on 17 December 1967 and was officially presumed dead two days later, although a formal inquest into his death did not take place until 2005.
Present day
Portsea was considered by many to be the hub of Melbourne's recreational scuba diving
Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...
activities. At one time there were as many as four dive shops in the main street of Portsea. Dive charter boats still travel from Portsea Pier to sites both inside Port Phillip and outside Port Phillip Heads, also known as " The Rip".
The Portsea Pier is the home to the spectacular weedy sea dragon, as well as many other fish species, including numerous pufferfish
Tetraodontidae is a family of marine and freshwater fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfis ...
. Boating traffic is frequent, and divers should be careful to avoid main boating routes. After dredging was done to deepen the entrance to the bay for shipping there was increased surge at Portsea Pier and within a year Portsea Beach was gone. Sandbags have been placed on the once picturesque beach to prevent further sand erosion.
Portsea Back Beach is an attraction in Portsea, due to its great surfing conditions and long stretch of sand. Portsea Surf Life Saving Club patrols the popular surf beach, as patrols are always needed during the summer period given the large waves and strong tides that are often present.
Corsair Rock, just at the entrance to Port Philip, is a well-known surf spot to locals and professional surfers. However, it is not advised to surf there unless you are an experienced surfer and, for safety, are accompanied by somebody in a boat nearby. It is considered a very dangerous location. The rip can run out as fast as 8-10 knots.
Golfers play at the revered Portsea Golf Club on Relph Avenue. The annual Portsea Polo event is held at Jarman Oval, near the former quarantine station on Point Nepean.
According to the 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...
Census, Portsea had 510 residents. Prominent residents include trucking magnate Lindsay Fox, Kate Baillieu
Katharine Jean Baillieu (born 17 January 1946) is an Australian former journalist.
Early career
Baillieu worked as a journalist and later as a personal assistant to Kerry Packer. In 1977, Baillieu was awarded the Douglas Wilkie Medal by the An ...
and Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
's grandson businessman David Calvert Jones, other well known residents are Eddie McGuire
Edward Joseph McGuire (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television and radio presenter, journalist, Australian Football League commentator and former TV executive. He is also an occasional ''Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosted C ...
and Ron Walker.
Traditional ownership
The formally recognised traditional owners
Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
for the area in which Portsea is located are the Bunurong
The Boonwurrung, also spelt Bunurong or Bun wurrung, are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory ...
people. The Bunurong people are represented by the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation.
Popular culture
The Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams ( bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David ...
song "Hoochie Gucci Fiorucci Mama" (from the 1980 album '' The Boys Light Up'') was written about Portsea.
Climate
See also
* Shire of Flinders – Portsea was previously within this former local government area.
* Portsea Hole – a nearby dive location
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Suburbs of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula
Coastal towns in Victoria (state)
Suburbs of Melbourne