Black Rock Beach - Melbourne

Looking down on Half Moon Bay from atop Red Clay Cliffs
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Black Rock Beach Overview

Location 18kms South East of Melbourne
Nearest Town: 500m

Port Phillip Bay Beach	Facilities	Activities Rating	Accommodation
Beach: Sand	Patrolled: No	Sunbathing: 65%	Hotel/Resort: No
Length: 200m	Toilets: Yes	Swimming: 68%	Caravan Park: No
Faces: West	Showers: No	Surfing: No	Beach Food: Yes
Top: Red Clay Cliff	Picnic Area:	Kitesurf: 75%	Café/Kiosk: Yes
Bottom: Breakwall	Tidal Pool: No	Fishing: 70%	Restaurants: No
Surrounds: Bushland, Houses	Pier: Yes	Shore Dive: Not Allowed on Wreck	Risk Level: 1 - Generally Safe
Reef: Yes, patchy	Other: HMS Cerberus forms part of breakwall off the beach	Snorkelling: 68%	Dumping Waves: No
Ocean Swell: No	Access: 1 - Easy	Spear Fishing: 65%	Frequent Rips: No
Other:	Car Park: Yes	Walks: 67%	Shark Attacks: No Report Found
	Transport: Train	Other:	Other:
Pretty bay beach as seen from red cliffs atop Half Moon bay.

Black Rock Beach Map

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Geography

Black rock Beach is situated in Half Moon Bay, a picturesque cove formed by a distinctive orange seacliff called Red Bluff. Black Rock is 18 km south-east of Melbourne's CBD, near the seaside town of Sandringham.
It is a sandy bay beach, around 200 metres long, on the east side of Port Phillip Bay. It features a pier, a yacht club and a unique breakwall formed by the wreck of HMVS Cerberus, a monitor class warship placed there in 1926.

Name

The suburb and beach of Black Rock was named for a house built in 1856 by Charles Ebden, Victoria's first Auditor-General, who named it after a place in Dublin. The house, 34 Ebden Ave, is now owned by the council and is open for inspection every Sunday between 2pm-4pm.

HMVS Cerberus

His/Her Majesty's Victorian Ship Cerberus is a monitor class warship that launched in 1868. It has historical significance as one of the first modern battleships - it was the first British warship to run completely under its own power without the aid of any sails.
Built as the flagship for the Victorian Navy, it served always on Port Phillip Bay, at a time when the people of Melbourne feared invasion from the sea. This fear, which also prompted the building of South Channel Fort at the Heads, and Bare Island in Sydney, may have been well founded. Credible reports of a planned Russian sea attack in the 1870's designed to empty the gold from Sydney and Melbourne banks have emerged.
In 1911, after Federation Cerberus became the foundation of the newly formed Royal Australian Navy. A training base on Westernport Bay was named after the ship in recognition of its service.
The Cerberus never fired a shot in anger, but none the less mades a significant contribution to the early history of Port Phillip Bay.

As a well known ship she is often blamed wrongly for the actions of others, including bombing a chemist in St Kilda and killing 2 men with a shell burst on Queenscliff Beach.
In 1926 the Cerberus was retired from active duty and sold for scrap metal. It was purchased by Black Rock Council who installed it as a break wall where it has steadily rusted away over the last 80 years.
Many people think this is not a fitting end for such an important part of our history and there have been many attempts over the years to save the vessel.
More information about this and the HMVS Cerberus is available at http://cerberus.com.au

Created by 175.33.116.234. Last Modification: Wednesday 04 of May, 2011 10:20:06 EST by admin.

Category: 2.Melbourne Beaches

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Disclaimer
Information contained on this site is compiled from many different sources and may contain inaccuracies.
This site is designed as a guide only, and should not be used as the sole basis for trip or activity planning.
Risk level is a compariative guide only and should not replace local knowledge or your own judgement based on your experience and current conditions.
The ocean is a dynamic environment and no guide on the internet should be used as a replacement for experience or correct training.
Most activities involving the ocean carry some risk. It is your responsibility to assess this risk based on current conditions, your experience and knowledge you obtain from a number of different sources.
Do not partake in activities beyond your experience level without proper training and supervision.
Local SLSC Lifeguards are an excellent source of local information with regards to current ocean conditions. Where possible, always swim between the flags, especially if you are not a strong swimmer. Collapsing sandbanks and sudden rips are a major cause of rescues at Australian Beaches.
Never swim in the ocean at night or while under the influence of alcohol. Avoid the water at dusk at beaches that have had recent shark attacks reported. Activity ratings are an attempt to reflect a combination of popularity, quality, consistency and reputation of rated activity. An activity with a higher rating from beach to beach may be more popular, or consistent, not necessarily better. A higher rating reflects a better chance of enjoying (or witnessing many others enjoying) activity, but due to exposed nature of beach does not guarantee activity will be available on any particular day. All distances are approximate. Nearest town or suburb will share name of beach unless otherwise stated. Distance to nearest town is based on distance from middle of beach to main shops and restaurant area.

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