Discovering the Peninsula
I’ve lived on the Peninsula for thirteen years and I’m still discovering it’s magic.
Despite its large and growing population (around 150 000), one of its greatest assets is space. I live in the middle of a built-up area, yet I have no near neighbours — a creek reserve winds its way around two sides and another reserve borders the third.
Mornington is quintessentially Peninsula. It exists on both sides of the highway and the two sides are different from each other, as is the case in Mount Eliza. There is a beach side and the inland side; like brother and sister — closely related yet each unique.
I have heard people hanker after cosmopolitan inner suburbs. I have lived in Carlton & Fitzroy and can say that Main Street Mornington can proudly boast cafés and restaurants every bit as good as those in Lygon Street, without the hype that now accompanies the latter, or the traffic and parking problems. Add galleries, a cinema, a theatre space, government services, a library, shops of all sorts, pubs and bars, a racecourse and a harbour and beaches. Inner city dwellers, eat your hearts out.
There are not many places I know where you can live in ‘suburbia’ and be no more than twenty minutes’ drive from beaches, national and state forests, ocean surfing, fishing and sailing opportunities, orchards, wineries, breweries, pick-your-own berries, camping grounds and award-winning gardens. And, of course, on Wednesdays there is the Main Street market with its fresh, local produce and its arts and crafts.
If you are a dog, this really is a place for a dog’s life: leash-free areas, including beaches and forest; places where your humans can be trained; pet shops full of lovely smells and spilt biscuits …
My wife and I recently sat in a winery restaurant nearby and it took us some time to work out what headland and islands we were looking at. It was a vantage point offering a unique view of Western Port and we were entranced. The Peninsula is full of such surprising spots. It is varied and complex. I often find myself stopping the car on the top of a rise, to take in the beautiful view.
It is very easy to take a place for granted, especially if you live or work there and it has become familiar. One way to rekindle a sense of newness is to wander around with a camera like a tourist, or invite friends down and play the tour guide. You would be surprised how many things you discover that you would swear weren’t there yesterday. And you know what? Some of them weren’t.
[Originally published in Mornington Voice, 12 November 2009]
