| Portsea Melbourne, Victoria |
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 Portsea Pier |
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| Population: | 655 (2006)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Established: | 1850s | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 3944 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 4 km² (1.5 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Property Value: | AUD $1,422,500 [2] | ||||||||||||
| Location: | 95 km (59 mi) from Melbourne | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | Shire of Mornington Peninsula | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Nepean | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Flinders | ||||||||||||
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Portsea is a resort town located across Port Phillip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula. Portsea is a popular holiday spot, located near the end of the Mornington Peninsula between the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay and the wild surf of Bass Strait.
The 3944 postcode is the nation's most affluent, with an average taxable income almost $10,000 higher than Sydney's Darling Point or Point Piper.[3]
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History
Portsea Post Office opened on 10 February 1877 and closed in 1987. [4]
OCS Portsea, an army establishment, was located just outside the town. The historic reserve became famous when Harold Holt, a former Prime Minister of Australia, 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.
Today
Portsea is considered by many to be the hub of Melbourne's recreational scuba diving activities. No less than four scuba related shops operate from in its otherwise modest main street. Dive boats travel 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 leafy sea dragon, as well as many other fish species, including numerous pufferfish. Boating traffic is frequent, and divers should be careful to avoid main boating routes. Portsea Back Beach is a big 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.
Golfers play at the course of the Portsea Golf Club on Relph Avenue.[5]
According to the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census Portsea had 654 residents.[1] However, these statistics are somewhat unreliable as most "permanent" residents live in their Portsea holiday home for only 4 days or so of each week to avoid Land Taxes, which in the higher value properties, can reach $300,000 AUD or more, per annum.
Prominent residents include trucking magnate Lindsay Fox, spinster heiress Kate Baillieu and Rupert Murdoch's grandson busnessman David Calvert Jones with many of their cliff top properties worth well in excess of $18,000,000 AUD.
The Australian Crawl song "Hoochie Coochie Fiorucci Mama" was written about Portsea. (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/24/1053585747626.html)
See also
- Portsea Surf Life Saving Club
- Portsea Portsmouth England of which the town is named.
- Point Nepean
References
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Portsea (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=SSC21549&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
- ^ Portsea, 4 April 2009
- ^ The Age (15 April 2005). "Income tide lifts Portsea". http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Income-tide-lifts-Portsea/2005/04/15/1113509926847.html.
- ^ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country=, retrieved 2008-04-11
- ^ Golf Select, Portsea, http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=311, retrieved 2009-05-11
External links
- Portsea, Victoria is at coordinates 38°19′12″S 144°42′47″E / 38.320°S 144.713°ECoordinates: 38°19′12″S 144°42′47″E / 38.320°S 144.713°E
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