Merricks is a small 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...

, located in the southeastern Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula

The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...

 between 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...

 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...

. 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...

.

History

Merricks was part of the Parish of Balnarring and is believed to be named after an early cattle station owner. It was first settled in 1865 by John Caldwell, who built "Koonoona", a wattle cottage. Unlike Balnarring and Hastings, Merricks's early settlers preferred running cattle and sheep to growing orchards. In 1902 a post office opened which was served by Cobb and Co

Cobb and Co

Cobb and Co is the name of a transportation company in Australia. It was prominent in the late 19th century when it operated stagecoaches to many areas in the outback and at one point in several other countries, as well....

 from 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...

; this closed in 1979. In 1920, a co-operative cool store was built in nearby Red Hill

Red Hill, Victoria

Red Hill is a small rural community, located in the hinterland of the Mornington Peninsula, about an hour's drive south of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. The Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula...

, and from 1921 until 1953, a railway from Bittern

Bittern, Victoria

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

 to Red Hill travelled through Merricks, although it received little use after its initial decade of service. A small primary school was also opened in 1921, closing in 1951 along with several others in the region when Red Hill Consolidated School commenced.

The Victorian Municipal Directory in 1962 stated that Merricks contained "(only) a general store and post and telegraph office".

Present day

Merricks is a tiny settlement along the Frankston-Flinders Road which has changed little over the years from its earlier rural functions, and many of the original settler houses still stand today. It features a newly restored General Store (built in 1927) incorporating a post office and newsagency, the Peninsula Quarter Horse Association's base and a chocolate factory. Also in Merricks are the Merricks Creek vineyard specialising in pinot noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

 production and Stoniers Winery (1978) producing chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 and pinot noir.

A 6.3 km mostly tree-lined horse riding trail, established by the former Shire of Hastings in the mid-1980s along a disused railway route, runs roughly east-west from Merricks Station Ground Reserve to Red Hill

Red Hill, Victoria

Red Hill is a small rural community, located in the hinterland of the Mornington Peninsula, about an hour's drive south of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. The Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula...

 through mostly rural land between the Coolart and East Creeks.

Merricks is served by the bus route operated by Peninsula Bus Lines between Frankston and Flinders.