St Andrews Beach
St Andrews Beach, a residential suburb adjoining the Rye back beach on the Mornington Peninsula, is 70 km south of Melbourne. It was named in the 1960s in connection with a real estate development which included a proposed golf course: the original name, St Andrews By-the-Sea, was changed to St Andrews Beach after part of the golf course was apparently resumed by a local owner.
The St Andrews real estate venture was not the first. In 1958 the Capri Beach Estate was launched, but failed in a few years and was repackaged with the proposed golf course. It met with further difficulties when subdivided dune land was badly eroded. Some of the worst affected land was later stabilised and reserved as open space.
In 1981 St Andrews Beach had about 90 dwellings and under 150 residents. Ten years later there were 324 dwellings. A coastal National Park and two golf courses within a few kilometres were significant attractions and there are a local shop, a well appointed recreation centre and the St Andrews Beach Golf Club in neighbouring Fingal.
St Andrews Beach's census population have been:
| census date | population |
|---|---|
| 1981 | 143 |
| 1991 | 422 |
| 1996 | 457 |
| 2001 | 664 |
| 2006 | 769 |
| 2011 | 853 |
Further Reading
George Seddon, A landscape assessment of the Southern Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Melbourne, 1974
