The Port of Hastings serves major international and domestic shipping movements that import and export oil, LPG, ULP and steel. It also handles general cargo, project cargo, ship-to-ship transfer, pipe-laying operations and the lay-up and repair of oil rigs and floating platforms.
Western Port has been an active trading port since the early 1800s, featuring a wide variety of trades either derived from the sea or dependent on maritime transport. The land surrounding the Port of Hastings has been reserved for port related uses since the late 1960s. The port’s proximity to the oil and gas fields of Bass Strait and easy access for large vessels along the natural deep channels has given the port a key role in the energysector.
In the 1970s the potential of Western Port was identified for the establishment of large scale process industries, which require both deep water and extensive land adjacent to a port. Areas were identified to be set aside for port purposes so that the State's options with regard to any future port development at Western Port could be preserved.
The management and development of the port of Hastings has been a controversial State and local issue for some years. The port development remains a controversial issue. It is supported by the State Government but opposed by many others. A Preserve Western Port Action Group is actively contesting State government claims on economic, social and environmental grounds. Environmental groups are also against the proposed expansion.
Hastings is part of an urban enclave on Western Port comprising Hastings, Bittern, Crib Point, Tyabb, and Somerville. It is served by Hastings railway station on the Stony Point greater-metropolitan line. Hastings is situated on an inlet on Western Port, a major port and important environmental area. Surrounded by farmland, the town has multiple marinas and is home to many recreational boating activities.
Where is it?: Hastings is on the Mornington Peninsula, 58 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Hastings recorded a population of 10,369 at the 2021 census.
Being located on a crescent-shaped bay opening onto Western Port, it is probably the safest small boat harbour on Western Port, as it is easily accessible, and protected from prevailing winds. Therefore, much of the recreation centres around boating or fishing at the local marina and yacht club. The area around the pier is popular with sightseers, there being a waterfront cafe, and many yachts moored nearby. Pelicans can normally be seen in this area, and the pelicans are fed daily by local fishermen.
The mudflats support significant mangrove forests, these being the most southerly species of mangrove in the world. Jacks Beach Walk takes hikers through and over the mangroves via a series of boardwalks. The mangrove forests are natural fish hatcheries, important for the maintenance of good fish populations in the bay. A significant area of Western Port north of Hastings has been declared a Marine National Park.
Hastings is home to the ExxonMobil and BlueScope manufacturing plants, and it is not uncommon to see large oil tankers docked near Long Island in Western Port. Hastings also hosts many small businesses associated with the recreational boating industry.
Stony Point station
Crib Point is part of an urban enclave on Western Port comprising Bittern, Crib Point, Hastings, Tyabb, and Somerville. It is served by three railway stations: Morradoo, Crib Point and Stony Point, the latter of which is the terminus of the greater-metropolitan Stony Point line. The line extends from the Frankston line and is part of the city's suburban passenger railway network, and the Myki integrated ticketing system (Zone 2), but is not electrified like the rest of Melbourne's rail network. It has operated with a variety of rolling stock, and was the last suburban service in Australia to be operated by a locomotive hauled train. The line is also used by freight trains serving the Long Island steel mill in Hastings.
Passenger services are run as a shuttle service between Frankston and Stony Point, with passengers from Flinders Street required to change at Frankston station. It is the only non-electrified line operated by Metro Trains, which operates Melbourne's suburban heavy rail network.
Crib Point jetty. A ferry service operate to Tankerton, on French Island, and Cowes, on Phillip Island from the jetty.
The Victorian Maritime Centre is temporarily located at Crib Point. It has a future permanent site announced at Hastings. The museum houses many artefacts of both the Royal Australian Navy and the Merchant Navy. The Maritime Centre has the HMAS Otama, a former Oberon-class submarine, moored offshore, but it is not in condition suitable for visitor access.
HMAS Cerberus
The naval base HMAS Cerberus is located 6 kilometres south of Hastings in the suburb of Crib Point, housing many of its personnel on base. However some live in Hastings or other nearby towns. The local Naval Cadet unit, TS Tingira, is also located out of HMAS Cerberus.
Hastings is thought to be named after a fishing town in England or the British imperial administrator Warren Hastings. Previously known as King's Creek and Star Point, its post office opened on 4 February 1863. European settlement of the area dates from the 1840s, with fishing being the main industry. Growth took place from the 1850s into the 1870s as the township developed. Expansion continued in the late 1880s and 1890s, aided by the construction of the railway line and the establishment of many orchards.
Significant residential development occurred during the 1960s and 1970s, spurred by industrial growth and public housing construction. Growth began to slow from the 1980s. The population has increased since the early 1990s, a result of new dwellings being added to the area.
Design by W3layouts
