1. Themes
  2. A to Z

Merricks

(3916, 75 km S, Mornington Peninsula Shire)

Alfred Meyrick and his cousin Henry took up the Coolart and Balnarring cattle stations on the shores of Western Port in 1840. In 1841 a surveyor misspelled their name when indicating the position of Callert Merricks Cattle Station. In the 1860s selectors introduced orchards, cattle and sheep to the district and a village was surveyed in 1870. However, there was little development until the opening of a railway station on the Bittern-Red Hill line in 1921. Merricks Beach began to gain popularity as a beach resort in the 1930s. Though thoroughbred horse and cattle studs still exist in the district, Merricks is now well known as a wine-growing centre.

Jill Barnard