Black Rock, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Black Rock is a suburb in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, 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...

, 18 km south-east 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...

. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside
City of Bayside
The City of Bayside is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 36 square kilometres and has a estimated population of 96,329 people.-City of Brighton:...

. At the 2006 Census, Black Rock had a population of 5796.

History

The suburb was named after Black Rock House, a grand residence built by Charles Ebden
Charles Ebden
Charles Hotson Ebden was an Australian pastoralist and politician.Ebden was born in 1811 at the Cape of Good Hope in the Cape Colony, the son of merchant and banker John Bardwell Ebden and his wife Antoinetta...

 in 1856, who had taken the name from Black Rock, Dublin. Ebden was an early Port Phillip pastoralist as well as being a businessman and parliamentarian representing the seat of Brighton
Brighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Brighton had a population of 20,651...

 in the Victorian Parliament
Parliament of Victoria
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of The Queen, represented by the Governor of Victoria; the Legislative Council ; and the Legislative Assembly...

. Black Rock House is on the Register of the National Estate.

The northern part of the suburb between Beach Road and Bluff Road was one of the early estates in the parish of Moorabbin developed by Josiah Holloway in the 1850s. Named Bluff Town, sales were slower than in other areas and the suburb grew slowly.

One of the notable characteristics of the Black Rock shoreline is Red Bluff. The bluff's name comes from the oxidised iron in the cliffs which gives off a burnt orange colour. Either side of Red Bluff are many popular beaches and seaside destinations, including Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay, Victoria
Half Moon Bay is a bay and neighbourhood on Port Phillip, south east of Melbourne. Located in the suburb of Black Rock, it is home to the Black Rock Yacht Club. This bay also gets a mention in the Cat Empire song, "The Wine Song". Half Moon Bay is also home to HMVS Cerberus, the last surviving...

. Half Moon Bay had been setting for yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...

 since the 1890s, and a branch of the Brighton Yacht Club formed the Black Rock Yacht Club in 1919. A rock breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...

 was constructed and in 1926 the hull of the colonial naval vessel HMVS Cerberus
HMVS Cerberus
HMVS Cerberus is a breastwork monitor that served in the Victoria Naval Forces, the Commonwealth Naval Forces , and the Royal Australian Navy between 1871 and 1924....

 was added to further protect the boat haven.

In 1888, the year after the railway was extended to Sandringham
Sandringham, Victoria
Sandringham is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Sandringham had a population of 8693.-History:...

, a horse tram was provided between Sandringham and Black Rock, running on to Beaumaris
Beaumaris, Victoria
Beaumaris is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Beaumaris had a population of 12,441....

. The service, which lasted until 1914, was replaced by an electric tram service (operated by the Victorian Railways) in 1919, which ran slightly inland of the horse tram service. In 1931, the line was cut back to Black Rock, and the entire line closed in 1956.
In 1910 a State primary school was opened in Black Rock which continues to operate to this day.

The first Post Office in the area was Red Bluff to the north, which opened on 17 April 1901 and closed in 1969. The first Black Rock Post Office opened on 23 April 1902, was renamed Half Moon Bay in 1922 and closed in 1968. The second Black Rock Post Office opened in 1922 near the corner of Bluff Road and Balcombe Road.

Today

Like many neighbouring suburbs, the residential development in Black Rock dates partly in the postwar period and due to active conservation movements for the protection of native plants beside roads and on heathlands, Black Rock boasts beautiful surrounds. There are many recreational reserves located throughout the shoreline and near the town centre. The major shopping centre in Black Rock, located at the intersection of Bluff, Beach and Balcombe Roads is home to the prominent Black Rock Clock Tower.

Median house prices in Black Rock during 1987-96 were between 100% and 140% higher than the median prices for metropolitan Melbourne.

Landmarks

  • The HMVS Cerberus - A breakwater
    Breakwater (structure)
    Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...

     in Half Moon Bay
    Half Moon Bay, Victoria
    Half Moon Bay is a bay and neighbourhood on Port Phillip, south east of Melbourne. Located in the suburb of Black Rock, it is home to the Black Rock Yacht Club. This bay also gets a mention in the Cat Empire song, "The Wine Song". Half Moon Bay is also home to HMVS Cerberus, the last surviving...

     formed by the sunken wreck of Australia's first ironclad warship, HMVS Cerberus
    HMVS Cerberus
    HMVS Cerberus is a breastwork monitor that served in the Victoria Naval Forces, the Commonwealth Naval Forces , and the Royal Australian Navy between 1871 and 1924....

  • Black Rock Clock Tower - A large four sided public clock mounted on a tall brick structure in the middle of a roundabout at the intersection of Beach Road and Balcombe Road. A popular starting point for cycle rides along Beach Road including the (in)famous "Hell Ride"
    Hell Ride, Melbourne
    The Hell Ride is an informal training ride that follows the coastline of Port Phillip Bay through the south–eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...

    .
  • Black Rock House - a grand residence built by Charles Hotson Ebden in 1856
  • 'The Rock' - fine Edwardian residence on Beach Road near the clock tower

Parks and gardens

  • Black Rock Gardens and Playgrounds
    Location: Opposite Clock Tower, Beach Road
  • F.G. Tricks Reserve
    Location: Cnr Bluff Road and Fern Street

Sport

The suburb has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Southern Football League
Southern Football League (Victoria)
The Southern Football League is an Australian rules football league, based in the south and south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, for both seniors and juniors....

.

Golfers play at the course of the Royal Melbourne Golf Club on Cheltenham Road.

Notable former residents

  • Andrew Lauterstein
    Andrew Lauterstein
    Andrew George Lauterstein is an Australian swimmer and a three-time Olympic medalist.- Personal :...

    , Australian Olympic swimmer.
  • Alan Marshall, Australian writer, story teller and social documentor.
  • Kirstie Marshall
    Kirstie Marshall
    Kirstie Marshall is a notable Australian aerial skier and Victorian state politician.Marshall was an ex-gymnast who became an aerial skier at Mount Buller, Victoria. During her skiing career Marshall won over 40 World Cup medals, including 17 World Cup gold medals...

    , Australian aerial skier and Victorian state politician.
  • Edward Bertram Johnston, politician.
  • Shane Warne
    Shane Warne
    Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...

    , former Australian cricketing legend, attended Black Rock Primary School.
  • James Manson
    James Manson
    James Manson is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the VFL/AFL.From North Hobart, Tasmania, Manson provided some great assets to a fighting Collingwood Magpies. Manson stood at 194 cm and was solidly built with a great overhead mark thanks to his great hands...

    , former Collingwood premiership player.

External links

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