VICPort & river
Frankston
A fishing village that the railway turned into a beach town.
1854Government village surveyed
WHAT STARTED IT
Springs and drainage from Mount Eliza, with Kananook Creek nearby, gave fresh water on this stretch of the bay. A government village was surveyed here in 1854, and a year later it had a public house, a police station and a few settlers.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
A pier opened in 1857 for fishing boats and firewood, and the population stayed near 150 until the railway arrived in 1882. The line brought Melbourne day-trippers, and after the Second World War cheap land and Housing Commission estates turned the resort into a regional city.
TURNING POINTS
1854The government village of Frankston is surveyed.
1857A pier is built.
1882The railway is extended from Mordialloc to Frankston.
1922The railway is electrified.
1960Urban Frankston is separated from its rural hinterland.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A large bayside suburb and the administrative and shopping centre of the City of Frankston. Its beach still draws visitors at the gateway to the Mornington Peninsula.