| Address: | Beach Street |
|---|---|
| Suburb: | Queenscliff |
This low-lying northern-most tip of Queenscliff saw its physical origins in 1863 with allotments let to a burgeoning fishing community previously accommodated on the site of the current railway station and whose construction in 1879 necessitated eviction. Among this community, Chinese fishermen are thought to be of the first international settlers.
The success of the fishermen’s settlement was due in part to commercial trading prospects the railway afforded and the size of catch available to those fishing in Bass Strait. Salmon, snapper and particularly barracouta led to the success of the local industry.
While Queenscliff’s fishing trade began its decline in the 1960s-70s due to unreliable fishing stocks and regional competition, what remains in Fishermen’s Flat makes a valuable contribution to the urban fabric as an extant reminder of the geo-cultural, social and economic diversity that somewhat contrasts the townships leisure reputation. Future redevelopments arising through gentrification pressures should aim to be sympathetic to the humble scale and construction of many of the remaining original cottages.
(Lovell Chen Architects. ‘Individual Property Citation’, Queenscliffe Heritage Study, 2009.)
View of Fisherman's Cottages and Swan Island, 1912, postcard. (Image courtesy of the Queenscliffe Historical Museum)
Army person on the back of a vehicle loaded with fish boxes on the pier railway lines, n.d. (Image courtesy of the Queenscliffe Historical Museum)
