Blairgowrie, Victoria

Blairgowrie is a seaside town in Metropolitan Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, approximately 63 km south of Melbourne’s city centre, Victoria, Australia. Its local government area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.

Blairgowrie
Melbourne, Victoria
Blairgowrie welcome sign
Blairgowrie
Coordinates38.36°S 144.769°E / -38.36; 144.769
Population2,313 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density367.1/km2 (951/sq mi)
Postcode(s)3942
Area6.3 km2 (2.4 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Mornington Peninsula
State electorate(s)Nepean
Federal Division(s)Flinders
Suburbs around Blairgowrie:
Sorrento Port Phillip
Blairgowrie Rye
Bass Strait

History

Blairgowrie was named after the Burgh of Blairgowrie, the largest town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. A post office was not opened until 1 November 1947.[2]

Rhys Isaac, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, died in Blairgowrie in October 2010.

Today

Blairgowrie is located near the western tip of the Mornington Peninsula, between Sorrento and Rye, and is one of many popular holiday destinations for Melburnians along this narrow peninsula strip. It is bordered on the north by Port Phillip, and on the south by Bass Strait and a series of surf beaches interspersed with spectacular cliffs and rocky ledges. It is frequented by tourists in the summer months, and has been featured on numerous travel programs.

Blairgowrie Pier is the most popular shore dive site for recreational scuba diving inside Port Phillip. It was built as a safe boat harbour and marina by the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron. Blairgowrie Pier is highly regarded for the more than a hundred different species of nudibranch that have been identified there. Each year from May through July thousands of spider crabs migrate along the ocean floor to the cool, shallow waters around Blairgowrie Pier. When the water temperature drops, the spider crabs moult their shells. While their new shells harden, they crowd together for protection from predators like stingrays, seals and sharks, sometimes forming stacks more than a metre high. There are also octopus, cuttlefish, seahorses, box fish, large stingrays, decorator crabs, stargazers, invertebrate, goat fish, blennies, and much colour underwater at Blairgowrie Pier.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Blairgowrie (State)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  2. Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 11 April 2008


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