Somerville, Victoria

Somerville is a semi-rural coastal suburb in Victoria, Australia, 53 km southeast from Melbourne's central business district, as a part of the urban enclave on Western Port comprising Somerville, Hastings, Bittern, Crib Point, and Tyabb. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula. At the 2011 Census, Somerville had a population of 10,730.^[1] The size of Somerville is approximately 38 km².

The population of Somerville in 2001 was 10,049 people. By 2006 the population was 10,704 showing a population growth of 7% in the area during that time.^[2]

Originally an orchard town Somerville has experienced large population growth over the last twenty years.

It is served by Somerville railway station on the Stony Point Line, as well as a bus service to Frankston.

History

The township was once located on Lower Somerville Road, with several original buildings still there today. Somerville Post Office opened on 21 November 1870 and closed in 1893.

The railway came to Somerville in September 1889,^[3] the station was a mile or so from Lower Somerville Road and the town centre moved from there to its current site during the 1890s. Somerville Railway Station Post Office opened on 15 August 1890 and was renamed Somerville in 1907.^[4] in August. In August 2009 two teenagers burnt down the original station.

The Somerville Hotel was built in the early 1900s as well as a Mechanics' Hall which form part of the Station Street shopping strip. The north side of the station street shopping strip was burnt in 1987 as an act of vandalism.

The town was known during the early 1900s up until WW2 for the fruit which was produced in its orchards. A harvest festival was held once a year and special trains ran from Flinders Street Station to the town during the festival.

During the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s the town underwent a population boom and the town changed from a rural town into a residential suburb.

The Somerville war memorial was unveiled on the 4th of November 1923 at the intersection of Frankston Flinders road and Eramosa road west. With the increasing population and thus traffic, it's was moved from the busy intersection to Clarinda street in 1966. From November 2014 to April 2015 the memorial was moved from Clarinda street to the Fruitgrowers reserve. The cenotaph was restored with markers surrounding it telling the residents history of the area.

The avenue of honour was originally located along Eramosa road East where the road was lined with Plane trees in 1917. Each tree represented the men who went to War. The trees have since been cut down and footpaths have been laid in there place. In early 2014 a new avenue of honour was made along Station street planted with ornamental pears to replace the original.

Today

Somerville is experiencing urban growth with an expanding residential area surrounding its retail and commercial hub. The town centre is split by a railway line giving Somerville a vast shopping district as well as a rather unique roundabout. The iconic Somerville Pub is a well known landmark. Somerville Central, a major shopping plaza, opened in 2009.

There are many parks and playgrounds scattered throughout the township, with the two major ones being the Jones Road Oval and the Fruitgrowers Reserve.

The Mechanics' Hall is a popular venue for local bands to playa do small school plays. On January 7th 2015 a massive storm ravaged Somerville and neighbouring town Tyabb ripping off the roof of the hall. The roof was later restored the following week.

Inghams also has a large factory here, that employs a large number of the towns population. Inghams Enterprises is an Australian-based poultry supplier and producer. The company was founded in 1918 by Walter Ingham. On his death in 1953, his two sons, Jack and Bob Ingham took over the small breeding operation and built it into the largest producer of chickens and turkeys in Australia.