Mount Martha, Victoria

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Mount Martha
Melbourne, Victoria

Population:

11595 (2001 census)

Postcode:

3934

Area:

17.2 km²

Property Value:

AUD $405,000 ^[1]

Location:

59 km from Melbourne
18 km from Frankston

LGA:

Shire of Mornington Peninsula

State District:

Mornington, Nepean

Federal Division:

Dunkley, Flinders

Suburbs around Mount Martha
	Mornington
	Mount Martha	Moorooduc
Safety Beach

Mount Martha is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 60 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula. It is located on the south-eastern shores of Port Phillip Bay and offers a bathing beach. A boardwalk winds its way for over 5 km along the Balcombe Creek, its North beach mouth to the Briars Historic Park. The suburb's highest point bears the area's name and reaches 160 m (540 ft). The peak was named after Martha Lonsdale, the wife of a captain in the British Navy.

[edit] History

Mount Martha has its roots dating back to the 1840s when the township's major role was that of farming. The Briars Homestead in the town's East was constructed from 1848 to 1951 and was used by Alexander Balcombe until 1976 as he farmed the land surrounding it and tended to 100 acres of vineyards. The homestead was named after the lodging of the same name in Saint Helena, and today contains several historical pieces sent there by Napoleon during his stay on the Atlantic island.

In 1891 the Martha Hotel, designed by architects Tappin, Gilbert and Dennehy was constructed in a Federation Queen Anne style. Today, the building now known as Mt. Martha House serves as a community centre and is Victorian Heritage listed.

During the Second World War, Mt. Martha's Balcombe Creek camp saw host to the US Marine Corps's 1st Marine Division from 1942. After the conclusion of the war, it was progressively relocated or demolished until [1999]. The area is now known as Balcombe Estuary and has Barbecue facilities (including an open fireplace) as well as a children's play area in the west, and residential allocations were made in the east. Also during the second world war, Mt. Martha House had extensive use by the military and functioned as a WRAAC barracks up until 1978.

In 1978, a water treatment plant was constructed in the suburbs east, which services nearby towns Mornington, Mount Eliza, Mount Martha, Somerville, Pearcedale and Baxter, and provides treated water to local vineyards, a tree plantation and lawns.