- Hastings, Victoria
Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Hastings
city = Melbourne
state = vic
caption = Main street of Hastings
lga = Shire of Mornington Peninsula
postcode = 3915
pop = 6881 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC21323 | name = Hastings (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-10-01 | quick = on]
area = 41.6
est =
propval = $235,000 [ [http://www.domain.com.au/public/suburbprofile.aspx?suburb=Hastings&postcode=3915 Hastings] , accessed 2 September 2007]
stategov = Hastings
fedgov = Flinders
dist1 = 61
location1=Melbourne
dist2 = 20
location2= Frankston
near-nw =
near-n = Tyabb
near-ne =
near-w =
near-e = Western Port
near-sw = Balnarring
near-s = Bittern
near-se =Hastings is a town on the
Mornington Peninsula , Victoria,Australia . Its Local Government Area is theShire of Mornington Peninsula . It is served by Hastings railway station on the Stony Point greater-metropolitan line.Hastings is situated on an inlet on
Western Port , a major port and important environmental area. Hastings has multiplemarinas and is home to many recreational boating activities.History
The town was named after the British imperial administrator
Warren Hastings Fact|date=April 2007 and the Post Office opened on 4 February 1863. Citation
last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ]Local culture
Hastings is one of the 'gateways' to the lower
Mornington Peninsula , and is located on the coast ofWesternport Bay . Still surrounded by farmlands, it is still very much a country town, with a strong sense of local community.It has a population of over 7,000, and several major franchises have set up there. The opening of a
K-Mart shopping centre on 19 October 2006 is the first large department store in the town.Hastings was the seat of the Hastings Shire, before this was merged into the Mornington Peninsula Shire, and still has many buildings associated with federal, state and local governments. It has the headquarters of the regional traffic police. There is a modern library in the centre of town, outside of which is a statue of former resident and famous footballer, John Coleman. Other facilities include a public hall, and a modern aquatic centre.
Hastings has two public primary schools - Hastings Primary and West Park Primary. There is also a private
Catholic school named St Marys, as well as Western Port Secondary College, a state high school (formerly known as Hastings High School).In October 2003, the town was host to
Princess Anne of the British Monarchy. During her short stay she inspected the decommissioned submarineHMAS Otama , a vessel she launched in the 1970s.Industry
Hastings is home to the
Esso andBlueScope Steel manufacturing plants, and it is not uncommon to see large oil tankers docked near Long Island in Westernport Bay. Many residents of Hastings work or have family members working at Esso or BlueScope Steel. Hastings also hosts many small businesses associated with the recreational boating industry.Military
The naval port of
HMAS Cerberus is 6 kilometres south of Hastings and houses many of its navy personnel on base, however some live in Hastings or other nearby towns.Recreation and Tourism
Hastings only has one small beach, most of the coastline being mudflats. The town also features several large coastline reserves, some of which allow pet dogs to roam leash-free.
Hastings is located on a crescent-shaped bay opening onto Western Port Bay. It is probably the safest small boat harbour on Western Port, as it is easily accessible, and protected from prevailing winds. Therefore much of the recreation centres around boating or fishing at the local marina and yacht club.
The mudflats support significant mangrove forests, these being the most southerly species of mangrove in the world. Jacks Beach Walk takes hikers through and over the mangroves via a series of boardwalks. The mangrove forests are natural fish hatcheries, important for the maintenance of good fish populations in the bay. A significant area of Western Port Bay north of Hastings has been declared a Marine National Park.
The area around the pier is popular with sight-seers, there being a waterfront cafe, and many yachts moored nearby. Pelicans can normally be seen in this area, and the pelicans are fed daily by local fishermen.
Other nearby attractions include the Tyabb antiques centre and
Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park . Further tourist information can be found on the [http://www.visitwesternport.com.au/ Western Port Tourism Association] website.The town has an
Australian Rules football team competing in theMornington Peninsula Nepean Football League .References
External links
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
