Beaumaris, Victoria

History

Beaumaris includes two early estates in the parish of Moorabbin developed by Josiah Holloway from 1852. Named Beaumaris Town and Beaumaris Estate (after the pastoral run in the area and ultimately after Beaumaris in Wales), the lots comprising them were marketed by Mr Holloway's suggesting that the railway was imminent and a canal would be built. The township developed slowly, a Post Office opened on 1 March 1868, but was replaced next month by Gipsy Village office (now Sandringham). Beaumaris Post Office did not reopen until 1925. In 1957 this was renamed Beaumaris South when a new Beaumaris office opened in the current location. In 1954 Cromer Post Office opened to the north of the suburb.

Beaumaris Tram Company

From 1889 to 1914 the Beaumaris Tram Company conducted a horse-drawn tram service from Sandringham to Cheltenham through Beaumaris. It closed due to high costs and low patronage. There are no remains to be found of the line, but it is remembered by the name of the suburban street that it once used - Tramway Parade, Beaumaris.

Education

Beaumaris High School, which opened in 1958, became the Beaumaris Campus of Sandringham College, catering to years 7-10, from 1988 until 2015. A New Years 7-12 high school is being built on the same site at the corner of Reserve Road and Balcombe Road and will open in January 2018. There are three primary schools, Beaumaris Primary School, which was first opened in 1915 on the site of the Beaumaris Tennis Club on Bodley Street, and later moved to its current site in Dalgetty Road as the population of the school grew; Beaumaris North Primary School, which first opened in 1959; and Stella Maris Primary School (Roman Catholic).

Beaumaris Campus burned down in 1958.

Beaumaris Primary School Administration and some of the classrooms were burnt down in 1994.

Transport

Major thoroughfares in Beaumaris include Balcombe Road, Reserve Road,Beach Road, Haydens Road and Charman Road.

Beaumaris is serviced regularly by the following bus routes:

600 St Kilda – Southland SC via Brighton Beach RS, Sandringham RS, Cheltenham RS (every day). Operated by Melbourne Bus Link.

825 Moorabbin – Southland SC via Black Rock, Mentone RS (every day). Operated by Moorabbin Transit.

922 St Kilda – Southland SC via North Brighton RS, Sandringham RS, Cheltenham RS (every day). Operated by Melbourne Bus Link.

923 St Kilda – Southland SC via Brighton Beach RS, Sandringham RS, Cheltenham RS (every day). Operated by Melbourne Bus Link.

These routes connect with the Cheltenham, Mentone, and Sandringham railway stations.

Bayside's bike path runs through Beaumaris, alongside Beach Road.

Ricketts Point

The most prominent landmarks of this suburb are on its coastline, and include the Beaumaris Cliff, from Charman Road to Table Rock, which is of international importance as a site for marine and terrestrial fossils, and Ricketts Point, which is next to a 115 hectare Marine Sanctuary and popular beach area. The coastal waters from Table Rock Point in Beaumaris to Quiet Corner in Black Rock and approximately 500 metres to seaward formally became the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary under state legislation passed in June 2002.

Marine Care Ricketts Point Inc., a volunteer organisation concerned with the preservation of the marine sanctuary, is active at Ricketts Point.

Beaumaris Conservation Society Inc. was founded in 1953 as the Beaumaris Tree Preservation Society and has been active since then in championing the conservation of the substantial amount of remaining indigenous vegetation in Beaumaris and its other significant environmental qualities. It is campaigning against a proposal for a large private marina proposed for the Beaumaris Bay Fossil Site.

Ricketts Point is also home to the Beaumaris Life Saving Club, which holds yearly Life Saving Carnivals in the summer.

Heidelberg school artists

Near Ricketts Point, there is a monument commemorating the first encounter of Arthur Streeton and Heidelberg school artists Tom Roberts and Fred McCubbin. Their paintings of Beaumaris are also part of the City of Bayside Coastal Art Trail.

Notable residents

Clarice Beckett lived in Beaumaris and painted many landscapes of the area.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the suburb of Beaumaris recorded a population of 12,829 people. Of these:

Age distribution: Residents tend to be somewhat older than the country overall. The median age was 44 years, compared to the national median of 37 years. Children aged under 15 years made up 19.7% of the population (national average is 19.3%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.4% of the population (national average is 14.0%). The difference is most marked in the age group 24-34, which accounts for 5.5% of residents, compared to 13.8% nationally. Ethnic diversity: 75% were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 70%; the next most common countries of birth were England 7.0%, New Zealand 1.8%, Scotland 1.2%, South Africa 1.1% and Germany 1.0%. At home, 89% of residents only spoke English; the next most common languages spoken at home were Greek 1.5%, German 1.2%, Italian 0.8%, Mandarin 0.6% and Russian 0.5%. Finances: The median household weekly income was $1,907, compared to the national median of $1,234. This difference is also reflected in real estate, with the median mortgage payment being $2,383 per month, compared to the national median of $1,800. Transport: On the day of the Census, 9.5% of employed people travelled to work on public transport, and 67.5% by car (either as driver or as passenger). Housing: The great majority (83%) of occupied dwellings were separate houses, 13% were semi-detached, 3.5% were flats, units or apartments and 0.5% were other dwellings. The average household size was 2.7 people. Religion: The most common religious affiliation was "No Religion" (27%); the next most common responses were Catholic (26%), Anglican (21%), Uniting Church (6%) and Eastern Orthodox (3%).