Frankston is an outer-suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, in the local government area of the City of Frankston. It is located 41 km south-east of the Melbourne city centre, above the Mornington Peninsula. Due to its geographic location, it is often referred to as "the gateway to the Mornington Peninsula".
European settlement of Frankston began around the same time as the foundation of Melbourne in 1835—initially as an unofficial fishing village serving the early Melbourne township. The official village of Frankston was established in 1854, with its first land sales taking place on 29 May. Situated on the eastern shoreline of Port Phillip, Frankston has been a popular seaside destination of Melbourne since the 1880s. Frankston Beach is still one of the most frequented in Victoria, and is recognised as one of the cleanest in Australia. It is also home to one of the largest exhibitions of sand sculpting in the Southern Hemisphere.
Frank Liardet settled in the Frankston area in 1847, after taking out a 300-acre depasturing license for land that is now the Frankston locality of Karingal. During this time, Liardet built the first wooden house in the Frankston area—which would later become part of his Ballam Park estate after the formal land sales of 1854. Prior to settling in the area, Liardet had also worked on the cattle run of the first Postmaster of the Port Phillip District, Captain Benjamin Baxter, which was located over what are now the City of Frankston suburbs of Langwarrin and Langwarrin South. By the time Liardet had taken out his depasturing license for the Frankston area in 1847 an unofficial fishing village was also developing around its foreshore.
Considering Frank Liardet's early presence in the Frankston area, and his connections to the early mail services of Melbourne, it is plausible that "Frank's Town" became nomenclature for describing the area and its unofficial village. As a consequence it is possible that the name of "Frankston" was further adapted from it when officially naming the village for its formal land sales in 1854.
Prior to the foundation of Melbourne by Europeans in 1835, the area surrounding Port Phillip was originally populated by Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years. Particularly, the Frankston area was inhabited primarily by the Mayone-bulluk clan from the Bunurong tribe of the Kulin nation.
Demographics
Frankston according to Census 2011
The median/average age of the people in Frankston is 38 years of age.
69.5% of people living in the suburb of Frankston were born in Australia.
82.8% of people living in Frankston speak English only.
Frankston North according to Census 2011
The median/average age of the people in Frankston North is 39 years of age.
70.0% of people living in the suburb of Frankston North were born in Australia.
83.3% of people living in Frankston North speak English only.
Seaford according to Census 2011
The median/average age of the people in Seaford is 39 years of age.
71.6% of people living in the suburb of Seaford were born in Australia.
84.9% of people living in Seaford speak English only.
Baxter according to Census 2011
The median/average age of the people in Baxter is 37 years of age.
78.9% of people living in the suburb of Baxter were born in Australia.
92.3% of people living in Baxter speak English only.
Langwarrin according to Census 2011
The median/average age of the people in Langwarrin is 35 years of age.
79.9% of people living in the suburb of Langwarrin were born in Australia.
92.5% of people living in Langwarrin speak English only.
Dwellings by Postcode
| Postcodes |
3910 |
3911 |
3198 |
3199 |
3200 |
| Dwellings |
8100 |
1264 |
7613 |
2480 |
23484 |
Note: Dwellings count is from the Census 2011