Main street of Flinders

Flinders
Charming seaside town on the Mornington Peninsula
Flinders, once known as Mendi-Moke, is a small, tranquil and attractive village of some 900 people located in a very beautiful coastal setting on the southern side of the Mornington Peninsula, 88 km south of Melbourne. The general store, seemingly frozen in time, the post office, the small whitewashed jetty, the antique stores, galleries and restaurants and the backdrop of rolling green hills help to generate a pleasant and slightly antiquated ambience amidst contrasting environs: on the northern side are the calm waters of Westernport while 400 m from the village centre, on the southern side, are rugged cliffs and windswept ocean beaches. Flinders is also near extensive national parkland, the wineries of Red Hill, Merricks (see entry on Shoreham) and Dromana) and the scenic values of Cape Schanck. The climate is mild, being warmer than Melbourne in winter and cooler in summer.

Despite the scenic nature of the area and its capacity to draw holiday-making Melburnians, wholesale development and commercialisation have not proceeded. One reason for this remarkable lack of restraint may be the kinds of people who own land in the area, including businessmen such as John Elliot and Sir John Holland, prominent figures of the artistic community (such as the former head of the Australian ballet) and, until recently, former prime minister Malcolm Fraser. At any rate the local councils appear to have set ideas about preserving the area's beauty, its estates and fine coastal views.

Flinders is located at the western end of a small promontory known as West Head which extends out into the turbulent ocean waters of Bass Strait, forming the western gateway to Westernport. Most of this headland is not open to the public as it is utilised by the defence forces as an artillery range.

Prior to European settlement the Boonwurung Aborigines occupied the area. Westernport was noted and named by George Bass on January 4,1798, during a trip from Sydney in which he discovered the Strait which bears his name. Bass chose the title 'Western Port' as it was then the most westerly point of the Australian coast explored by the English. James Grant and Lieutenant John Murray explored Westernport on separate voyages in 1801 and a French party visited it the following year. The presence of the French was a major motivation for the establishment of the first British colony on the Mornington Peninsula (see entry on Sorrento) in 1803 but it did not last long and it was not until the mid-1830s that Europeans gained a permanent foothold in the area (see entry on Melbourne).

Squatters began to move into the Mornington Peninsula late in the 1830s and Henry Tuck settled in the immediate district in the mid-1840s. James Smith took up land now occupied by the Flinders Golf Course in the late 1840s. Farming later emerged in the hinterland. Fishermen were working on the foreshore of West Head (originally known as Black Head) by the 1850s.

During the goldrush days of the 1850s Chinese immigrants disembarked at Flinders to avoid paying the 10-pound immigration tax levied at official ports. In 1856 110 were living on Flinders Beach, approximately where the yacht club is now situated. They fished and established market gardens.

Post office services commenced in 1863 and a pier was constructed in 1864-65 which facilitated interchange between local producers (of bacon, dairy products and railway sleepers) and the Melbourne markets. A school was established in 1865 and church services commenced in the school in 1867. The first town allotments went on sale in1866 and a general store was established on the first block to be sold. A village of fishermen's huts later emerged on the foreshore.

In 1869, Flinders became the site of a telegraph station which connected Tasmania and the mainland via an underwater cable. In the 1880s Flinders began to promote itself as a health and recreation resort and guesthouses started to emerge, along with the Flinders Hotel, established in 1890. Fishing, farming and tourism have remained the focus of the local community which supplies large quantities of abalone, crayfish and mussels.

The Flinders Art Show is held annually on the Queen's Birthday weekend.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
The Dromana Visitor Information Centre is located on Point Nepean Rd at Dromana, tel: (03) 5987 3078 or (1800) 804 009.

Foreshore Reserve
Located at the forsehore end of Cook St (the town's main thoroughfare), this parkland recreational area has a carpark, a boat ramp, a war memorial, a nice little jetty jutting out into the calm waters of Westernport, a monument to George Bass, who became the first Englishman to investigate the inlet on January 4, 1798,, and a lookout point offering fine views over West Head, across the mouth of Westernport to Seal Rocks and The Nobbies on Phillip Island and up the coast to Somers.

Fishermen were already working on the foreshore of West Head (originally known as Black Head) by the 1850s. During the goldrush days Chinese immigrants disembarked at Flinders to avoid paying the 10-pound immigration tax levied at official ports. In 1856 110 were living on Flinders Beach, approximately where the yacht club is now situated. They fished and established market gardens.

A pier was constructed in 1864-65 which facilitated interchange between local producers (of bacon, dairy products and railway sleepers) and the Melbourne markets. A village of fishermen's huts later emerged on the foreshore.

The jetty was reconstructed in the early 1970s and renovated in the 1990s. The breakwater was added in 1953 with extensions in 1962. The former jetty cargo shed dates from the 1920s. Both the jetty and shed are still used for fishing. A kiosk selling tea, scones and lollies once operated on the pier.

Cable Station Walk
The Flinders Cable Station Walk, which traverses the foreshore area, commemorates the establishment, in 1869, of a telegraph station which connected mainland Australia and Tasmania. The cable initially terminated at a receiving station near the jetty. Morse code messages were then conveyed by hand from the receiving station to the staff house halfway up the cliff where the message was decoded. It was taken by hand to the telegraph office atop the cliff. A new telegraph office was built in the early 1890s, bypassing the receiving station and staff house. The whole system was replaced by telephony in 1936 and the telegraph station was demolished in 1961.

Of Historic Interest
The Flinders General Store, on Cook St, between Wood and Norman Sts, is situated on the first town allotment sold in 1866. It was sold to John Brent who died shortly thereafter. This left his widow to establish the intended store which doubled as a post office until 1881. It has been much altered over the year.

Flinders Bread, at 58 Cook St, has a large wood-fired oven that was constructed c.1939 of 10,000 bricks.

The Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist, at 29 King St, dates from 1892.

The Old Vicarage Lavender Garden
Adjacent the church is the old vicarage which has been converted into a lavender garden and a shop selling lavender products, pottery, toiletries, gifts, preserves, cottage plants and art prints. It is located at 23 King St and is open Wednesday to Sunday and most public holidays from 10.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. but closed throughout July, tel: (03) 5989 1001.

Golf Course, Cliffs and Back Beach
On the other side of the village is an outstanding and long-established golf course which sits atop the cliffs overlooking Bass Strait. A public road, which runs through the golf course, provides access to the cliffs (popular with hang-gliders) and Back Beach which provides excellent fishing opportunities. When the tide is out it is possible to see how the rocks form a T-shape which is thought to be a partial modification of a natural feature realised by the local Aborigines in order to aid their fishing activities. Past the toilet block, on the left, is the safe swimming beach. The cave in the red soil of the cliff provided shelter for the indigenous people.

Antiques
Mostly Deco Antiques and Collectables specialises in art deco ceramics and china. It also has furniture, Australian prints, glassware and jewellery etc. It is located at 62a Cook St and is open Friday to Sunday and in holidays, or by appointment, tel: (03) 5989 0010 or, after hours, tel: (03) 5989 0145.

The Blowhole Walk
Head west out of town on Boneo Rd (which leads to Rosebud) for about 1 km and there is a signposted turnoff on the left which leads to a carpark. This is the starting point of the Blowhole Walk (1.2 km return) which leads over huge bluestone boulders to the ocean. The rock platforms are accessible at low tide. Garnets and sapphires have been found in the sand.

The Bushrangers Bay Walking Track and Main Creek Walking Track
7 km west of Flinders along Boneo Rd there is a signposted carpark. A walking track (6 km return) leads south to the secluded beach at Bushrangers Bay. It is considered one of the best short coastal walks going.

It is also possible to walk north from the carpark into Greens Bush (see next entry) via the Main Creek Walking Track which follows the Main Creek valley through varied scenery (including eucalypt woodland, small fern gullies and grazing paddocks) to Lightwood Creek.

Greens Bush
10 km west of Flinders along Boneo Rd there is a signposted turnoff on the right into Long Point Rd (gravel) which leads into Greens Bush. The largest section of remnant bushland on the Peninsula, it is an island of native forest and wildlife amidst a sea of farmland. There are many birds (including honeyeaters, parrots, wedge-tailed eagles, kites and wrens), along with kangaroos (which can be seen feeding on the grasslands at dawn and dusk), the swamp wallabies of the forests and nocturnal mammals such as ringtail possums, sugar gliders and bats.

After about 1.4 km Long Point Rd intersects with Rogers Rd. This is the start of the Long Point Circuit Walk (4 km return) which passes through eucalypt forest with a bracken understorey before opening out into grasslands and gullies of coastal banksia and blackwood.

The Two Bays Walking Track is a 30-km bush corridor between Cape Schanck and Dromana. It takes in eucalypt forest, 200-year-old grasstrees, tea-tree thickets, fern gullies and open grasslands. Leaflets outlining these walks are available from Parks Victoria (tel: 131 963) or the Dromana Information Centre. Limited camping is available by prior booking.

The walkway at Cape Schanck, Mornington National Park

Cape Schanck and Mornington Peninsula National Park
Just past Long Point Rd is a turnoff on the left into Cape Schanck Rd which heads out to a carpark by Cape Schanck Lighthouse, situated at the eastern approach to Port Phillip Bay. Built of stone it is 21 metres tall and has been in service since 1857. Guided tours depart from the kiosk in the carpark every half-hour from 10.00 a.m. Accommodation is also available in the two former lighthouse keeper's cottages, tel: (03) 5988 6184.

An information board has details of walks in the area. From the carpark a constructed track leads south out to the beach and rock platform of Cape Schanck.

Another track heads east from the carpark along Bushrangers Bay (90 minutes return), past rugged basalt cliffs and some exceptional coastal scenery to Main Creek. A detailed guiding leaflet is available from the box at the start of the walk or from Parks Victoria.

An optional extra is to pick up the Main Track which heads north-east, taking in some fine views and shady banksia groves. It leads to the Bushrangers Bay Walking Track carpark on Boneo Rd (see previous entry) and continues north to Greens Bush.

Just north of Cape Schanck Lighthouse, a short side road heads west off Cape Schanck Rd past a small parking area, which is the start of a series of walking tracks, and on to The Pines Picnic Area which has toilets, picnic tables and electric barbecues. The Fingal Beach Walking Track (3 km return) leads through areas of dense tea-tree growth, past lookouts with outstanding views of the basalt cliffs then steeply down to Fingal Beach. This trip is best undertaken at low tide if you wish to explore the coastline.

This walk is only part of the 27-km Coastal Walk which follows the coastline all the way westwards to London Bridge near Portsea. Gunnamatta surf beach lies along this route, to the west of Fingal Beach. It is patrolled on weekends in summer and during other holiday periods but it is important to swim between flags as the ocean beaches on the southern side of the peninsula are often too dangerous for swimming. For road access to Gunnamatta Beach see entry on Rosebud.

	Motels
	Flinders Motel/Hotel Cnr Cook & Wood Sts Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0201 Facsimile: (03) 5989 0878 Rating: **1/2
	Flinders Cove Motor Inn 32 Cook St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0666 Facsimile: (03) 5989 0906 Rating: ***1/2
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Cipriani's Flinders Country Inn Bed & Breakfast 165 Wood St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0933 Facsimile: (03) 5989 0059 Rating: ****
	Fulbry Manor 1827 Mornington-Flinders Rd Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0295 Facsimile: (03) 5989 0290 Rating: ****
	Samburu Bed & Breakfast 75 Eastern Grey Rise Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0933 Facsimile: (03) 5989 0053 Rating: ****1/2
	Cottages & Cabins
	Flinders Cottage 94 Cook St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0301 Facsimile: (03) 5989 0301 Rating: ***1/2
	Nazaaray Cottage 266 Meakins Rd Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5985 1138 Facsimile: (03) 5985 1140 Rating: ****1/2
	Caravan Parks
	Flinders Caravan Park The Avenue Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0458 Facsimile: (03) 5989 0599 Rating: ***1/2
	Restaurants
	Cipriani's Flinders Country Inn Wood St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0933
	Flinders Motel/Hotel Cnr Cook & Wood Sts Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0201
	Flinders Cove Motor Inn 32 Cook St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0666 Facsimile: (03) 5989 0906
	KG's Bar & Tratoria 3 Gordon St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0000
	Cafés
	Flinders Bakehouse Cafe 60 Cook St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0091
	Flinders Village Cafe 49 Cook St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0700
	Merie's Takeaway Cafe 33 Cook St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0280
	Salty's Cafe 37 Cook St Flinders VIC 3929 Telephone: (03) 5989 0067