Bittern is a rural town in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, 49 km southeast from Melbourne's central business district

Melbourne city centre

Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...

, as a part of the urban enclave on Westernport comprising Bittern, Hastings

Hastings, Victoria

Hastings is a suburb on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, as a part of the urban enclave on Westernport comprising Hastings, Bittern, Crib Point, Tyabb, and Somerville. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula...

, Crib Point

Crib Point, Victoria

Crib Point is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, as a part of the urban enclave on Western Port comprising Bittern, Crib Point, Hastings, Tyabb, and Somerville...

, Somerville

Somerville, Victoria

Somerville is a suburb in Victoria, Australia, 49 km southeast from Melbourne's central business district, as a part of the urban enclave on Westernport comprising Somerville, Hastings, Bittern, Crib Point, and Tyabb. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula...

, and Tyabb

Tyabb, Victoria

Tyabb is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, as a part of the urban enclave on Westernport comprising Tyabb, Hastings, Bittern, Crib Point, and Somerville. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula...

. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula

Shire of Mornington Peninsula

The Shire of Mornington Peninsula is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located to the south of the city of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula. It has an area of 723 square kilometres...

. It is served by Bittern railway station on the Stony Point greater-metropolitan line and by the 782 bus route operated by Peninsula Bus Lines

Peninsula Bus Lines

Peninsula Bus Lines is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As a Melbourne bus company, it operates a number of bus routes under contract from the State Government of Victoria. Peninsula Bus Lines is a subsidiary of Grenda's Bus Services....

 between Frankston

Frankston, Victoria

Frankston is a suburb within the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area in Victoria, Australia. It is located 40 km southeast of the state capital Melbourne at the southernmost edge of Greater Melbourne, near the beginnings of the Mornington Peninsula...

 and Flinders

Flinders, Victoria

Flinders is a historic town south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located on the Mornington Peninsula at the point where Western Port meets Bass Strait. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula...

. Bittern is named after the shy wetland bird, the Australasian Bittern

Australasian Bittern

The Australasian Bittern , also known as the Brown Bittern, is found in south-western and south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Ouvea. Populations in Australia and New Zealand have declined in the 20th century.It is a large bittern, patterned and streaked brown, buff...

, which reflects the suburb's location amongst significant areas of native bushland and dense coastal vegetation.

History and Present Day

The town was part of the Coolart pastoral run of the 1860s. Bittern Post Office opened on 5 January 1891. The railway opened for Bittern in 1889 and small scale commercial development began during the early 1900s. The town also has a primary school, Bittern Primary School, and a small basketball and netball stadium known as Graham Myers Sports Stadium or Bittern Memorial Stadium, which features an indoor court used for basketball, netball or floorball and four outside courts used for netball. There is also a small oval located outside the stadium.