Wilbraham Liardet first settled Port Melbourne in 1839 when he established a mail service, hotel, and jetty there. Taking on the name of Sandridge at first, it was officially named Port Melbourne in 1884. The port became a thriving transport hub in the 1850s when the Victorian gold rush brought many new settlers and Australia’s first rail line connected Sandridge to Melbourne. Station Pier was a major entry point for new immigrants.
Much industry has left the inner city, and today it’s largely a residential suburban center. But Port Melbourne is still a major transportation hub for passenger and cargo vessels. It is host to many cruise ships who berth at Station Pier during Australia’s summer months, with peak berthing during November, January, and February.
Port Commerce
Over 3500 commercial ships call at the port every year. Port Melbourne has 30 commercial berths. On an average day, the port handles 700 motor vehicles, over 500 tons of coffee and tea, 750 tons of timber, 1300 tons of chemicals, and over 10,000 tons of petroleum in addition to more than 15,000 tons of food and dairy products.
Australia’s Victorian Government established the Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) under the Port Services Act of 1995. Portfolio responsibility rests with the Victorian Minister for Roads and Ports, but the PoMC is responsible for the safe and efficient movement of shipping and the management of shipping channels.
Maritime facilities managed by PoMC include more than 100 nautical miles of shipping channels and fairways between Port Phillip Bay and the berths in Port Melbourne. Recognizing the worldwide trend to deeper, larger container ships, PoMC has proposed deepening existing main shipping channels to provide safe efficient access for ships of up to 14m draught. Dredging was scheduled to start in February 2008 and be completed in December 2009.
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