Mornington, Victoria

Originally home to the Indigenous Boonwurrung people, the first European settlers arrived in the area in the 1840s for fishing, logging and agriculture.^[3]

A 46-metre-long (151 ft) pier was opened in 1858 and became the social and economic gateway to the Mornington Peninsula, connecting the surrounding areas with Melbourne.^[4] Originally known as Schnapper (or Snapper) Point, the town was renamed Mornington in 1864 after the second Earl of Mornington.^[4][5] The Courthouse was built in 1861 and the Post Office in 1863.^[3] The Grand Hotel was originally opened in 1892 at 126 Main Street as an alcohol-free Grand Coffee Palace designed by notable Melbourne architect William Pitt.^[4] Mornington became a popular tourist destination, with day trippers travelling from Melbourne on steamers from the 1860s.^[3]

The Mornington Railway line opened in 1889, connecting the township directly to Melbourne until it was closed in 1981.^[4]

In 1890, the Mount Martha Hotel, designed by architects Tappin, Gilbert and Dennehy, was constructed in a Federation Queen Anne style. Despite its name, the structure is located in Mornington. During World War II, the hotel was extensively used by the military and functioned as a Women's Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) barracks up until 1978. The building is now known as Mount Martha House and has served as a community centre since 1979.^[6]

In the 2021 Census, there were 25,759 people in Mornington.^[1] 77% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 9.3%, New Zealand 1.4%, Scotland 1.3%, Ireland 0.8% and Italy 0.7%. 94% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 0.7%, Greek 0.6% and Spanish 0.4%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 45%, Christian 45%, Hinduism 0.3% and Islam 0.2%. 41% of dwellings were owned outright, 32% were owned with a mortgage, and 21% were rented. Unemployment in 2021 was 3.8%. The top three industries of employment were Health Care and Social Assistance (16%), Construction (14%) and Retail Trade (10%).^[1]

The town centre runs into the foreshore area and local beach, which features a yacht club, restaurant and park with playground facilities.

Mornington is an attractive destination for shopping and features some excellent restaurants and cafes. The north of Mornington is also home to several horse breeders and stables. It has a library and numerous parks, gardens and historical buildings, many of which are open to the public. It holds several annual festivals, and holds a market day in the main street every Wednesday and occasionally at the racecourse or at Mornington Park, which attracts hundreds of people.

The Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, opened in 1971, is the major art gallery for the region and hosts a number of major exhibitions, including the Archibald Prize in 2013.^[11] Surrounding the gallery are several parks and the Mornington Botanical Rose Gardens.

Within Mornington are several schools including Mornington Primary School, Mornington Secondary College, Mornington Park Primary School, St. Macartan's Parish Primary School, Padua College and Benton Junior College.

Mornington is served by three major roadways, Peninsula Link (Mornington Peninsula Freeway), Nepean Highway and Moorooduc Highway. All three are dual-carriageway arterial roads with varying speed limits of 80–100 km/h.

Mornington was formerly served by a railway line until closure in 1981 following the Lonie report. Since 1991, it has been partially reopened as the heritage Mornington Railway, which aims for full reopening in future.

Five bus routes serve the area as part of the Greater Melbourne bus network. Four routes (781, 784, 785 and 788) run towards Frankston, with routes 781 and 788 continuing down the peninsula; while route 886 runs to Hastings.

Mornington has an Australian Rules football team, the Mornington Bulldogs, competing in the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League.

Mornington has a horse racing club, the Mornington Racing Club, which schedules around twenty race meetings a year including the Mornington Cup meeting in March.^[12] The Mornington Racecourse also hosts the Peninsula Cup in November and monthly markets.

Mornington also has an active Yacht club, the Mornington Yacht Club, located at Schnapper Point.

Mornington is home to 3 Australian rules football/ Cricket grounds, Narambi Reserve, Alexandra Park and Dallas Brooks Park

Golfers play at the course of the Mornington Country Golf Club on Tallis Drive.^[13]

Mornington has a Field Hockey club competing in the Hockey Victoria Association known as the Mornington Peninsula Falcons.^[14]

Terri Sawyer, the 18-year-old female driver who won the first ever AUSCAR race at the Calder Park Thunderdome in Melbourne in February 1988, is a resident of Mornington.

Mornington has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with warm and occasionally hot summers and mild winters where temperatures below freezing are very rare occasions.

• Finola Moorhead
• Brodie Harper
• Terry Denton

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  Mornington Mechanics Institute
• 
  Mornington Grand Hotel
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  Historic aerial photo of Mornington 1940 looking west
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  Catholic Church at Mornington
• 
  Mothers beach, Mornington Peninsula

• Shire of Mornington – Mornington was previously within this former local government area.