St Leonards, Victoria

St Leonards
Victoria

Main street of St Leonards
St Leonards
Population: 1621 (2006)[1]
Established: 1855
Postcode: 3223
Location:
LGA: City of Greater Geelong
State District: Bellarine
Federal Division: Corangamite
Localities around St Leonards:
Indented Head
Drysdale St Leonards Port Phillip Bay
Swan Bay

St Leonards is a coastal township near Geelong, Victoria, Australia, at the eastern end of the Bellarine Peninsula and the northern end of Swan Bay. Situated 33 kilometres (21 mi) east of Geelong, St Leonards was a filming location for the Australian television series SeaChange.

The town is surrounded by salt marsh wildlife reserves which provide habitat for hundreds of birds, including the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot of which there are less than 200 in the wild. Salt marshes are one of the most biologically productive habitats on the planet, rivalling tropical rainforests. The official motto for St Leonards is "Where everyday is Sunday". [2]

Contents

History

The Post Office opened on 19 March 1860. [3]

Features

St Leonards is home to good sailing waters, an Esplanade memorial recording the landfalls of Matthew Flinders in 1802 and John Batman in 1835, Edwards Point Wildlife Reserve, and bay and pier fishing.[4]

At the 2006 census, St Leonards had a population of 1621.

It also maintains consistent calm waters as the town's location on the Bellarine Peninsula helps protect it from the bay's typical year round south west winds. Thus whilst large waves may be pounding on the east side of Port Phillip Bay due to strong south west winds, the water could be rather calm at St Leonards.[5]

Parks

Sport

Golfers play at the course of the St Leonards Golf Club on Blanche Street.[6]

Other clubs include the St Leonards Tennis Club, St Leonards Bowling Club, St Leonards Yacht Club and the Bellarine Sharks AFC (2008 GRFA Division 3 League Champions)

References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "St Leonards (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=SSC26661&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 2007-10-01. 
  2. ^ St Leonards Community Festival (17 October 2009). "Why we do this is…". http://stleonardscommunityfestival.com.au/. Retrieved 2010-04-15. 
  3. ^ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country=. Retrieved 2008-04-11 
  4. ^ Bellarine Historical Society (17 July 2004). "The History of St Leonards". http://www.zades.com.au/bellhs/stleonar.html. Retrieved 2008-01-02. 
  5. ^ Swan Bay Environmental Association Inc. (2006). "About Swan Bay". http://home.vicnet.net.au/~sbea/html/aboutswanbay.html. Retrieved 2008-01-02. 
  6. ^ Golf Select. "St Leonards". http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=967. Retrieved 2009-05-11 
Towns on the Bellarine Peninsula
Suburbs and localities of Geelong