St. Kilda and Port Melbourne History

Port Melbourne is a former railway station

on the former Port Melbourne line.

The Sandridge line played a historic significance for being

the first railway station in Australia.

 

Port Melbourne station opened in 1854. The Sandridge line took passengers, both local and from overseas, to Flinders Street Station.  The railway line was closed in 1987 and the same thing had been done to the St Kilda Railway Line.

The bridges to St Kilda and Port Melbourne have been saved from being taken away due to the efforts by an enormous amount of support from the people of Australia who won their objection.

The bridges have been converted to walkways where there are arts of differing kinds, which have become an enjoyable way to see Southgate, Flinders Street, and the Casino.

The routes to St Kilda and Port Melbourne will enable you to get the picture of the tramlines.  The previous railway lines have been converted to the light rail lines.

The light rail trams carry passengers from St Kilda and Port Melbourne.  Both lines carry an enormous amount of passengers; and they provide a short period of time for the lines in both direction.

The trams when they get to the junction go in reverse directions. One is for the St Kilda line; and the other line to Port Melbourne goes straight ahead on the Port Melbourne line.

South Melbourne Beach provides a tram service, serving passengers going past Albert Park Lake, where many people enjoy walking, cycling, running and walking dogs. The tram continues along Canterbury Road and turns right into Mills Street.

In March every year the Grand Prix takes place around Albert Park Lake. Passengers going to the Grand Prix can travel free for four days. These trams terminate at Albert Park where the trams turn back and head back to the City of Melbourne and they then return to Albert Park.

The tram along Clarendon Street heads from South Melbourne Beach and returns towards East Coburg.

The tram goes on Clarendon Street where the South Melbourne Shopping Centre is located.  As the tram continues, and when having got to the Casino on one side with Jeff’s shed on the other side, and then goes over the Spencer Street Bridge.

On the way to Port Melbourne there is Jeffs shed on the right hand side and the tram depot where there is another bridge – Montague Street.

The tram 95 route goes from the tram junction towards St Kilda & Port Melbourne.
Route 95 serves between St Kilda Beach and East Brunswick; the route travels along the Albert Park terminals for different ticket holders who are based close by to certain stands along Canterbury Road. The tram continues on heading towards the entry from the St Kilda Station towards Fitzroy Street and then continues on towards the St Kilda Beach.

On the last end of the line Acland Street has a wide range of eating places including cafes. Acland Street has a big influx of tourists who come there in the day and night where there is a wide range of nightclubs in certain areas down to Fitzroy Street.

At the other end of Acland Street there is Luna Park where they have all kinds of ride-on trains going up and down the big dipper and other sorts of formats for Luna Park.

Now we will go towards Port Melbourne where we start at the junction from where the route 109 which serves Port Melbourne to Box Hill which is one of the longest tram lines in Melbourne.

The Sandridge Bridge over the Yarra has been converted to a cycle and pedestrian link with arts.

The station building at Station Pier (Sandridge was the main name of the line as well as the Sandridge Railway Bridge over the Yarra River) is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and is located north of Beach Street and to the east of Canberra Parade; the centre has been converted into a medical centre and café to serve the residents in the area.

When you leave the station there is track for pedestrians and bicycles going to Sandridge beach. On the weekend, there are lots of people going for a stroll. Further along the beach, we get a good view of the container ships and cranes, as well as the rows of imported cars being put on semi-trailers.

People go to Station Pier to look at the ships from behind the gate. Such as the Princess of Tasmania, which comes and goes twice daily, and the large overseas ships – some are over 14 stories high.

Continuing underneath the Westgate Bridge, the parks in different seasons provide ideas and are stimulating. One area I especially enjoy is the Webb dock and Westgate Park area. There have been a lot of different flowers planted there, and free mulch for locals to take away. Water has returned to the lakes, and there is a bird sanctuary. From here we can see Science Works in Yarraville.

When you leave Sandridge station, and go towards St. Kilda, new flats have been built in the old brick factories. If you turn off into Pickles Street, there is the Gasworks, which has been turned into a park and community project for the arts. It contains the original buildings and cobble-stoned footpaths connected to the original gasworks. This has become a landmark in Melbourne. Back along Beaconsfield Parade, there is a large white building – the Danish Club, and further along, housing commission flats, recently renovated. On the left, when you arrive at St. Kilda, are the Catani Gardens. On Sundays, they have pony rides for the children. In February there are many singing groups in connection with the St. Kilda festival.

And Acland is just a few yards away – time for a coffee and a rest.

I enjoy having a coffee in the small coffee shop and milk bar near the small park on the way to Fitzroy Street.