Welcome!

Moorabbin was settled by the King Brothers, John and Richard, in 1846. It would grow to be one of the most diverse suburbs in Kingston. For a long time Moorabbin produced most of the fruit, vegetables and poultry for the whole of Melbourne. Moorabbin East was an industrial area with companies like Phillip Morris, Schweppes and Coca-Cola setting up on the sandy soil. Between 1947-1954 the population more than doubled, reaching 65,000. Moorabbin became one of the fastest growing cities in Australia in the 1950’s.

Moorabbin’s flat ground was also good for airfields. Moorabbin Airport opened in December 1949 and in 1989 was renamed Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport, after pioneering Australian aviator Harry George Hawker. It became Melbourne’s second general airport and during the 1960s was the busiest airport in Australia, with high numbers of small and medium-sized planes. Moorabbin Airport is home to the Australian National Aviation Museum.

Some Moorabbin quick facts have landed below:

  • The boundaries of Moorabbin are South Road in the North, Warrigal Road in the East, Keys Road and Wickham Road in the South, with the Frankston Railway line and the Nepean Highway in the West.
  • Moorabbin has an area of 4.6 Kilometres squared.
  • Moorabbin was a Municipality, (a City) between 1871-1994.
  • The State electorate for Moorabbin is the Bentleigh District.
  • The Federal electorate is the Hotham Division.

Click above to discover more about this diverse suburb.

Name origins

Would you know which Kingston suburb I’m talking about if I said ‘the resting place’? Perhaps not – I’ll give you a clue. The Aboriginal word for ‘resting place’ is Moorooboon. The word also translates as ‘mother’s milk’ and it’s believed this place may have been where the Boon Wurring tribes’ mothers and children stayed while the men were away. The area had lots of different food sources such as frogs, rats, snakes, and wild birds like ducks, fowls and parrots.

In 1842, Jonathan Binns Were, a shipping agent for Henry Dendy, named his fancy new stone house Moorabbin House. This led to the suburb being called Moorabbin. There are some lovely reserves pocketed away in Moorabbin that could still serve as a nice ‘moorooboon’ today.

On the 16th of May 1862 the Moorabbin Road District was incorporated covering from the outskirts of Brighton on the South East along both sides of Nepean Road as far as Mordialloc Creek . This took in the areas known now as Hampton, Sandringham, Beaumaris and Mentone. Moorabbin became a Shire on the 27th of January 1871. Until 1909 Moorabbin township was known as South Brighton. On October 10 1934, the City Moorabbin was created. After World War Two it became a boom suburb making it one of the fastest growing areas in Australia.

On the 15th of December 1994, the City of Moorabbin was abolished, and was split three ways; most of it merged with the Cities of Mordialloc, Chelsea and parts of Springvale, to become the newly created City of Kingston; Bentleigh was transferred into the newly created City of Glen Eira; and a part of the City of Moorabbin between the railway and Charman Road was transferred into the newly created City of Bayside.


Aerial view Moorabbin Juntion. Image courtesy City of Kingston.

Population

  • Census DatePopulation
  • 1911727
  • 19331688
  • 20014948
  • 20065170
  • 20115283
  • 20165,877

Events

  • 1854
  • 1857
  • 1862
  • 1867
  • 1871
  • 1872
  • 1881
  • 1909
  • 1917
  • 1920
  • 1924
  • 1929
  • 1930
  • 1934
  • 1937
  • 1959
  • 1960
  • 1962
  • 1963
  • 1965
  • 1970
  • 1975
  • 1982
  • 1983
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1999
  • 2002
  • 2005

1854

The Wesleyan church opened a primary school (the fifth oldest school in Victoria) which continued until 1872, when it was replaced by a State primary school.

1857

It might not seem like it today, but Post Offices were a big boon for an area when they opened. Without the internet and phones, how would you send birthday messages or invitations for a sleep over? The Moorabbin Post Office opened on Tuesday 1 September 1857.

1862

The Moorabbin district, which included Sandringham, Mentone and Mordialloc, was made a Roads Board District.

1867

1867 Barrie Gregg takes over the Plough and Harrow and named the hotel Greggs South Brighton Hotel. The grounds featured a labyrinth and many rare birds and animals.
The Moorabbin Shire Hall was built on Nepean Highway. The former council offices are now the Kingston Arts Centre.

Greggs Hotel, South Brighton / C. Woodhouse.Elevated view of Gregg's Hotel, South Brighton on the Point Nepean Road, between Union and Agnew Street. Shows the hotel buildings, stables and yard with a fountain, horse-drawn carriage in yard; railway line and steam train pulling into North Brighton Station in right background. Image courtesy State Library of Victoria.

1871

The Shire of Moorabbin was proclaimed.

1872

Moorabbin Primary School opened in a building on the corner of Dane Rd and Worthington Terrace.

Moorabbin School 1111 Grade II 2, 1937 Image courtesy State Library of Victoria.

1881

On the December 19 Moorabbin was given a Station.

South Brighton Station, c1900. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.

1909

Up to this point Moorabbin was known as South Brighton. It now becomes Moorabbin.
Moorabbin Football Club, the "Kangaroos," began.

Moorabbin Football Team c. 1935 Image coutesy State Library of Victoria.

1917

The area that became known as the City of Sandringham was severed from the Shire of Moorabbin.

Shire of Moorabbin (1917, March 10). Sandringham Southern Cross (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Image courtesy Trove.

1920

The area that became known as the City of Mordialloc was severed from the Shire of Moorabbin.

1929

Moorabbin Council offices (now Moorabbin Arts Centre) opened.

Moorabbin Art Centre formerly City of Moorabbin Council Offices, 1999. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.

1930

In the 1930s, poultry farming was added to market gardens.

1934

Moorabbin Shire was declared a City. Access the Kingston Historical website.

Proclamation of the Shire of Moorabbin as a City. Image courtesy Victorian Government Gazette. No 164 Wednesday October 10th, 1934.

1937

Official opening of W & A Gilbey (Gilbey's Distillery).

1959

Moorabbin Station was relocated.

1960

The Moorabbin East Post Office opened near Chesterville Road.

1962

Moorabbin High School opened in Genoa Street. The school closed in 1984 with the site being used by the Bayside Special Development School.

1963

Southmoor Primary School opened.

1965

The St Kilda Football Club makes the Linton Street Oval its home ground, displacing Moorabbin club.

Mayor of Moorabbin Cr Bryan Stuart-Jones signs seven year lease of Moorabbin Football ground to St Kilda. Cr Les Coates; Town Clerk, Vic Smith, and St Kilda Secretary, Ian Drake, President, Graham Huggins, and Treasurer Murray Hartlett, 1964. Image courtesy Leader Collection.

1970

On the August 29, the grand opening performance of the Wurlitzer Organ in Moorabbin Town Hall was held. The WurlitzerTheatre Pipe Organ was built in 1928. Access the Kingston Historical website

The Organ Console. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.

1975

Moorabbin Hospital opened. The hospital is home to Monash Cancer Centre and is used for research.

1982

Julie Cooper, Moorabbin’s first female councillor (1976), became its first female mayor.
Moorabbin Kangaroos Football Club was founded.

Mayor of Moorabbin Cr. Julie Cooper on the right with Rev Denis Oakley and Supervisor Janet Blainey planting a tree at the Norman Craig Lodge in Chesterville Rd, Cheltenham. 1982. Image courtesy Leader Collection.

1983

The Grange, an historic house of the area, was demolished. The new Moorabbin Police Station was built on the land. Before the Police Station was built there was a temporary Moorabbin Library there in portable buildings. Access the Kingston Historical website

Moorabbin. Grange 1011 Nepean Highway. Image courtesy. J.T. Collins Collection, La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria.

1988

New Council building officially opened on June 25 by Councillor Jack Levy. Kingston Historical Website.

City of Moorabbin New Council Office Building, c1990. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.

1992

St Kilda played their last match at Moorabbin Oval on August 1. They won by 18 points over the Fitzroy Lions. Fairways Leisure Market opened in Moorabbin. In 1997 this became the first DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) store in Australia.

Verdun Howell, St Kilda Football Club full back soars over pack, 1965. Image courtesy Leader Collection.

1999

The new Moorabbin Arts Centre opens. This is now the Kingston Arts Centre. Kingston Arts Website.

Moorabbin Arts Centre and Town Hall. Image courtesy City of Kingston.

2002

Holmesglen Tafe took over Chisholm Tafe.

2005

After renovations, Moorabbin Campus of Holmesglen Institute of Tafe had 2 educational areas and a capacity for 30,000 students. It operated both day and into the evening.

Places

Holmesglen Institute, Moorabbin Campus

TAFE stands for Technical and Further Education and it’s a fantastic place to learn some specialised skills. Moorabbin offers TAFE at the Holmesglen Institute which has had over 25 million dollars spent to ensure its students get the best education. Some 10,000 students attend the institute today.

The Moorabbin Technical College was opened in 1957. The College merged with Bentleigh High School after Moorabbin High School closed in 1984 to form the Moorabbin City Technical High School. In 2002 the Tafe took over the Moorabbin Campus of Chisholm Institute of Tafe which became Holmesglen. Holmesglen Tafe is located at 488 South Rd, Moorabbin. Holmesglen: Moorabbin Campus.

Moorabbin Town Hall

After the initial hall was considered too small, a larger hall was built in 1963 that cost 300,000 pounds (which is $4,229,210.13 today). The main purpose for the hall being to provide wholesome entertainment to young people. Throughout Kingston and Australia you can find plaques similar to the one Councillor Ken Hodgson is unveiling in this picture. You’ll find them in all kinds of places and they tell often mention people of our community that we ought to remember for their work in the community. This plaque is recognising the architects of the Moorabbin town Hall, Bates, Smart and McCutcheon. Access the Kingston Historical website.


Cr Ken Hodgson unveils plaque at opening of new Town Hall, accompanied by his wife and the Minister of Local Government, Murray Porter, 1962. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.

Gilbey's Gin Distillery 1937-1987

On Wednesday, November, 3, 1937, over a thousand people were entertained at the official opening of W & A Gilbey at Moorabbin, where there was much testing of the gin.

In November 1960 the facility was expanded and production was doubled with the new equipment. As well as gin, the company made Australian whiskies, liqueurs, Jim Beam Bourbon, Hennessy Brandy and Smirnoff Vodka. In March 1983, Gilbey merged with another company, and in 1985 it was decided to move the company to New Zealand. In 1985, the Reg Hunt Rhodes Motor Company took over the building and its surrounding Gilbey’s site for their car sales operation. Despite attempts by Council to protect the building as a place of historical significance, it was demolished in June 2000.


Aerial View of Gilbey’s Gin, Moorabbin, c1940. From Gold, Eric, Four-in-Hand: A history of A & G Gilbey Ltd. 1857-1957.

People

Henry Dendy.

In 1840, Henry Dendy, a farmer in Surrey, England bought a "Special Survey" from the Commissioners for Land and Emigration which gave Dendy the right to choose land in Port Phillip (Victoria) for the "bargain basement" price of only £1 per acre for 5120 acres (an area of 8 square miles, 20.7199 square kilometres). The Special Survey also included the right to "the shipment of a worker for every £20 spent on land, whose free passage was paid by the Crown, equalling a total of 100 workers ".

On arrival in 1841, he selected 250 acres of land in the Parish of Moorabbin, county of Bourke, which became known as Dendy's Special Survey. He began the town of Brighton. It took in the area from the foreshore between what is now North and South Roads, and it stretched east to East Boundary Road. After depression hit the colony in 1943 Dendy was bankrupt by 1845. Dendy was not good at business and died a pauper (poor man) in Walhalla in 1881. Australian Dictionary of Biography : Henry Dendy..


Henry Dendy. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.

Charman Family.

We use Charman Road to get to Cheltenham Primary school, Cheltenham Library or even to get down to the beach, but who was Charman? Stephen and Mary Charman were early settlers of Moorabbin, arriving in 1852. They named their property Spring Grove because the land had springs and soaks that supplied them with plenty of water (water didn’t always just come out of a tap!). The Charmans worked very hard to create a farm of fruits and veggies and raise chickens and pigs. I don’t think you can hear too many ‘oinks’ around Moorabbin anymore.

They were particularly interested in growing little yellow flowers call Marigolds which they would sell to pharmacists around Melbourne to use as medicine. Their hard work paid off and in 1857 they were kind enough to donate land which was used to build a school,chapel and a burial ground. .Kingston Historical Website.

Harry Hawker.

Imagine hearing a plane overhead and seeing a tiny plane with two sets of two wings stacked on top of each other – look up pictures of a ‘biplane’ to see what I mean. In that plane, 100 years ago, you might’ve seen the gentleman to the right in his pilot goggles and cap. He was a pioneering aviator named Harry Hawker and he was born in Moorabbin in 1889.

He set off for England early in his life with dreams of piloting and returned to Moorabbin briefly in 1914 to show off his ‘Sopwith’ biplane. As there were no airports or runways set up then, Harry took off from a paddock in Brighton and flew the biplane all around Moorabbin. Sadly he was killed in a plane crash in England in July 1921 when his plane caught fire in the air.The Moorabbin Airport is dedicated to his passion for flight after it was named the Harry Hawker Airport in his honour. Monument Australia.


Harry Hawker. Image courtesy By George Grantham Bain Collection. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Sir Thomas Bent.

Here we see another of Kingston’s knights. Thomas was born on the 7th of December, 1838 in New South Wales to hotel-keepers, James and Maria Bent. He had four younger brothers and two younger sisters by the time they moved to Melbourne in 1849. Young Thomas worked on a small farm and by 21 years old he already had his own! Although he was known to be an excellent fast bowler, he had other career ambitions and began work as a rate collector before he was elected to local government in 1863.

He must have been popular because he rose rapidly to Chairman of the Moorabbin Road Board, then president of the Moorabbin Shire (1867, 1868, 1884, 1885, 1887, 1888) to and then the Premier of the whole of Victoria (1904-1909)! For this he was knighted in 1908 to become Sir Thomas Bent. Throughout his life he was married twice and had two daughters – one of whom we’ll talk about next. A year after he was knighted, Thomas past away and is now buried in Brighton General Cemetery. Access the Australian Dictionary of Biography website


Mr. Thomas Bent. Brighton by E. Gilks. Image courtesy State Library of Victoria.

Elizabeth Bleazby.

Elizabeth was one of the first women councillors in Victoria. Going against her father, Sir Thomas Bent, (former Premier of Victoria) who was strongly opposed to women entering politics, Elizabeth stood for election to the local council three times. She finally succeeded in 1929, after pleading the cause of the starving women and children during Victoria’s Great Depression.

Elizabeth served as a councillor for Brighton until 1946. Elizabeth wrote a letter supporting the name Moorabbin for a City rather than Bentleigh. Access the Australian Women's Register website

Julie Cooper.

Julie Cooper was born toward the city at Albert Park in 1934. Perhaps inspired by the courageous Elizabeth Bleazby before her, Julie Cooper went on to become the first female councillor for Moorabbin in 1976 and the first female Mayor in 1982.

She had a number of contributions to be proud of including the overseeing of the Moorabbin Toy Library and Riding for the Disabled (a wonderful charity where people with disabilities are provided with horse-riding lessons). In August 2015, Glen Eira opened the Julie Cooper Pavilion in Bentleigh east. St Peters Football Club Website.


Mayor of Moorabbin Cr. Julie Cooper on the right with Rev Denis Oakley and Supervisor Janet Blainey planting a tree at the Norman Craig Lodge in Chesterville Rd, Cheltenham. 1982. Image courtesy Leader Collection.

Fun Facts

Drive in theatres are a dying breed these days – they’re like a movie theatre only instead of seats, everybody drives their car in front of the movie screen. Moorabbin used to have one off Keys Road until 1980 when Coca Cola bought the space for their offices. You can still see a few lasting bits like the ramps and entrance but the screens and buildings are long gone. Cinema Tresures : Moorabbin Village Drive-In.

Have you heard the beep in the car when you go passed a tollway? Listen out for it when you’re on big highways, these are little electric tags in the car that automatically pay to use some roads but go back 150 years and it took quite a bit little longer and cost quite a bit more.

Moorabbin Roads Board had a toll gate on Nepean Highway starting on Thursday 30 June of 1864. Every sheep, pig, lamb or goat, ox or head of meat cattle, every horse, mare, ass or mule every cart, dray, wain, waggon or other vehicle if drawn by one horse or other such animal had to pay a price to travel on the road. Access the Kingston Historical website

Before the Moorabbin Council had their own town hall they would meet at the zoo! Ok, not really. But when Argus journalist Barry Gregg bought where the council used to meet, the Plough and Harrow Hotel. He changed the name to Gregg’s South Brighton Hotel and built a zoo on the property. It spanned a pretty huge area, from South road all the way north to Patterson Station. The council moved into their own hall) in 1867. Access the Kingston Historical website

Greggs Hotel, South Brighton / C. Woodhouse.Elevated view of Gregg's Hotel, South Brighton on the Point Nepean Road, between Union and Agnew Street. Shows the hotel buildings, stables and yard with a fountain, horse-drawn carriage in yard; railway line and steam train pulling into North Brighton Station in right background. Image courtesy State Library of Victoria.

In 1881, the headmaster of the Worthing Road State School wrote to Moorabbin council complaining about the use of “night soil”. He said it made the air so stinky that on hot days the school windows and doors had to be kept closed. ‘Night soil’ doesn’t sound very stinky though, does it? That is until you know what it is. It was human poop that was collected from toilets at night and used as manure to help plants grow. Useful - but Yuck!

Moorabbin State School at Worthing Road, C1910. Image courtesy of the Kingston Collection.

By the late 1800s, some of the dirt roads at the edge of the City of Moorabbin were in dire need of repair. There were gaping pot holes and muddy swamp areas that caused the farmers’ carts to break and their horses to stumble. Even worse, the huge carts that carried loads of sewage would get bogged in the mire. Some smart thinkers decided to install metal ‘plateway’ on the side of the roads so the wheels of the carts would run along smoothly while the horses galloped in between. Access the Kingston Historical website
Who knew that Moorabbin was used to discover war secrets! During World War Two there was a wireless receiving station in Chesterville Road. Set up amongst market gardens on the north corner of Chestervill and Key Roads many secrets were uncovered intercepting and decoding Japanese messages. All uncoded messages had to be delivered by hand by despatch riders.Access the Kingston Historical website

Photos


Moorabbin Football Team c. 1935 Image coutesy State Library of Victoria.


Moorabbin School 1111 Grade II 2, 1937 Image courtesy State Library of Victoria.


The Northway family pictured outside their home at Moorabbin. It is a weatherboard house which has been extended at the back c. 1900. Image courtesy Museums Victoria. Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/773008


Councillor de Henzell Storey. Sworn Valuer and Auctioneer. With his wife Lucy (nee Cock). Councillor West Riding Shire of Moorabbin c1910. Image courtest State Library of Victoria.


Greggs Hotel, South Brighton / C. Woodhouse.Elevated view of Gregg's Hotel, South Brighton on the Point Nepean Road, between Union and Agnew Street. Shows the hotel buildings, stables and yard with a fountain, horse-drawn carriage in yard; railway line and steam train pulling into North Brighton Station in right background. Image courtesy State Library of Victoria.


Mr. Thomas Bent. Brighton by E. Gilks. Image courtesy State Library of Victoria.


Henry Dendy. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.


Moorabbin Art Centre formerly City of Moorabbin Council Offices, 1999. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.


Harry Hawker. Image courtesy By George Grantham Bain Collection. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons


Moorabbin. Grange 1011 Nepean Highway. Image courtesy. J.T. Collins Collection, La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria.


City of Moorabbin New Council Office Building, c1990. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.


View of Moorabbin Station and surrounding area 1945. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.


Verdun Howell, St Kilda Football Club full back soars over pack, 1965. Image courtesy Leader Collection.


Railway gates and signal box, Nepean Highway, Moorabbin, c1955. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.


South Brighton Station, c1900. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.


Aerial View of Gilbey’s Gin, Moorabbin, c1940. From Gold, Eric, Four-in-Hand: A history of A & G Gilbey Ltd. 1857-1957.


The Organ Console. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.


Proclamation of the Shire of Moorabbin as a City. Image courtesy Victorian Government Gazette. No 164 Wednesday October 10th, 1934.


Aerial view of the first League game at Moorabbin Football Ground, 1965. Image courtesy Leader Collection.


Cr Ken Hodgson unveils plaque at opening of new Town Hall, accompanied by his wife and the Minister of Local Government, Murray Porter, 1962. Image courtesy Kingston Collection.


Plan of subdivision, part of Dendy's special survey, parish of Moorabbin, County of Bourke, 1880. Vale Collection. Image courtesy State Library of Victoria.


Mayor of Moorabbin Cr Bryan Stuart-Jones signs seven year lease of Moorabbin Football ground to St Kilda. Cr Les Coates; Town Clerk, Vic Smith, and St Kilda Secretary, Ian Drake, President, Graham Huggins, and Treasurer Murray Hartlett, 1964. Image courtesy Leader Collection.


MOORABBIN PROCLAIMED A CITY. (1934, November 30). Image courtesy of Trove.


Shire of Moorabbin (1917, March 10). Sandringham Southern Cross (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Image courtesy Trove.


Aerial view Moorabbin Juntion. Image courtesy City of Kingston.


BEHIND THE SCENES IN INDUSTRY—No. 12 (1938, October 22). Image courtesy Trove.


Mayor of Moorabbin Cr. Julie Cooper on the right with Rev Denis Oakley and Supervisor Janet Blainey planting a tree at the Norman Craig Lodge in Chesterville Rd, Cheltenham. 1982. Image courtesy Leader Collection.


Moorabbin Arts Centre and Town Hall. Image courtesy City of Kingston.


Moorabbin State School at Worthing Road, C1910. Image courtesy of the Kingston Collection.


Moorabbin Post Office, 1909. Image courtesy of Trove.


St Kilda football players at training with grandstand in background, 1965. Image courtesy Leader Collection.