Bittern is a town on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 61 km (38 mi) south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Bittern recorded a population of 4,276 at the 2021 census.[1]

Bittern
Victoria
Bittern General Store
Bittern is located in Melbourne
Bittern
Bittern
Map
Coordinates38°20′20″S 145°10′30″E / 38.339°S 145.175°E / -38.339; 145.175
Population4,276 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density120.11/km2 (311.1/sq mi)
Postcode(s)3918
Area35.6 km2 (13.7 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Mornington Peninsula
State electorate(s)Hastings
Federal division(s)Flinders
Localities around Bittern:
Tuerong Hastings Western Port
Balnarring Bittern Western Port
Somers HMAS Cerberus Crib Point

Bittern is part of an urban enclave on Western Port comprising Bittern, Hastings, Crib Point, Somerville, and Tyabb. It is served by Bittern railway station on the Stony Point greater-metropolitan line and by the 782 bus route operated by Ventura Bus Lines between Frankston and Flinders.[2] Bittern is named after the shy wetland bird, the Australasian bittern, which reflects the town's location amongst significant areas of native bushland and dense coastal vegetation.[3]

History and Present Day

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The town was part of the Coolart pastoral run of the 1860s. Bittern Post Office opened on 5 January 1891.[4] The railway opened for Bittern in 1889 and small scale commercial development began during the early 1900s. The town also has a primary school, Bittern Primary School, and a small basketball and netball stadium known as Graham Myers Sports Stadium or Bittern Memorial Stadium, which features an indoor court used for basketball, netball or floorball and four outside courts used for netball.[5] There is also a small oval located outside the stadium.

See also

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  • Shire of Hastings – Bittern was previously within this former local government area.

References

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  1. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Bittern (Suburbs and Localities)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 July 2022.  
  2. ^ "782 Frankston - Flinders via Coolart Road & Hastings". Public Transport Victoria.
  3. ^ Westernport Tourism, Bittern, retrieved 6 June 2010
  4. ^ Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 20 March 2021
  5. ^ Shire of Mornington Peninsula, Leisure Centres, archived from the original on 20 July 2008, retrieved 6 June 2010