THE 10 BEST Things to Do in Mordialloc
Things to Do in Mordialloc
Tours near Mordialloc
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Full-day ToursfromAU$155per adultAU$144
Full-day ToursfromAU$175per adultAU$164
Full-day Toursfromper adultAU$138
Adventure Toursfromper adultAU$217
Full-day Toursfromper adultAU$142- fromper adultAU$135
Food & Drinkfromper adultAU$129- fromper adultAU$220
City Toursfromper adultAU$99
Full-day Toursfromper adultAU$196
Other Top Attractions around Mordialloc
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What travellers are saying
- Kule DudeBromsgrove, UK933 contributionsEasy (free of charge) parking and a good (smooth so good for a pram) walkway along the back of the beach. And some lovely views towards the City.
And public conveniences as well!Written 13 December 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Peter SRome, Italy4,449 contributionsReview of Mordialloc Creek, Mordialloc, Victoria
Leave your car in the George Woods Reserve Car Park on Governor Road - about 1.5 km upstream from Port Philip Bay - and follow the footpath downstream on the north side of the creek through this part of the 4 ha reserve. Pass the train yard and follow the flow of water into the modern estuary that empties into the bay next to Mordialloc Pier. You’ll be part of the slow foot traffic dominated by the over-65s, but also the faster mums (granmas too) pushing baby, the dog-walkers and the local bikkies coming up behind everybody – calling out/ringing their bells to get passed. They get dangerously close at times.
It is difficult to wander the creek – either side – where it joins Port Philip Bay but imagine the place >200 years ago - the time in which the Colonial Europeans first began to arrive and impact on the life and times of the First Australians who once lived here. Not simply the modern infrastructure with all the noise, visually dominance and intensity of 21st C. people, but the original wilderness that has been lost beneath concrete, steel and manicured lawns. This is sanitised country - whether in the bay or alongside the creek - the natural estuarine environment that once provided for those ancient people remains a veneer of times passed.
Such was the pressure for land on the eastern side of the bay in those early days that a reserve of 337 ha was eventually established for the Bunurong People alongside Mordialloc Creek in the 1850s to provide a measure of security. It stretched inland from the bay as far as Carrum Swamp where fish and water birds were in relative abundance. By the late 1860s there were >2,000 Aboriginal People in reserves across Victoria of which an estimated two dozen were in Mordialloc. Social management of the reserve with provision of food and supplies can best be described as ‘casual’ and, following the death of the last resident in the late 1870s, the reserve was gradually lost to the settler community.
In the way that human development follows exploitation of the natural/social environment, so the remnants of those original settler communities in the late 19th C. – early 20th C. have also slowly become lost. Everything has changed - transport networks from water to rail and then to roads (and air); innovation in the home and workplace; educational curricula that encouraged/stimulated personal imagination/aspirations.
Take the tunnel beneath the rail bridge still following the creek downstream on the north side - you’ll pass the site/remains of Jack Pompei’s boat building sheds/yards/landings - nowadays a couple of dilapidated brick sheds with occasional small-scale boat renovation/repairs underway.
The days of the clinker boats that Messrs Pompei and others built on the creek throughout much of the middle-late-20th C. have gone - largely replaced by modern materials/designs/boats that are shipped in. The juxtaposition of elderly workshops with landscape modelling that puts visual appeal over history/legacy/employment underlines the reality of modern life. The new road bridge (commemorated as the ‘Jack Pompei Bridge’ in 2009 – one year after his death) together with the decorative skeleton boat by the Artist Julie Squires at the north end is probably all that will eventually remain as a reminder of a creek once full of yards, boats and boat builders.
For the current day, the legacy of those industries remains in the lines of small boats on either side of the creek – looking, at times, like the equivalent of a car wrecker’s yard with the 30-50 year old boats tied up one-after-the-other – many looking semi-abandoned. Few seem to have been used regularly in recent times, and it is rare to see anyone actually working on a boat.
That said, this remains a fine walk for those who enjoy that sense of history: from ancient people to the pleasure/utility of water/watercraft in modern times. You can’t walk alongside the last section of the creek on the south side – so cross the road bridge (if you need to) and take the underpass on the north side following the bollards/pleasure boats towards the open water. Closer to the bay there’s a comfortable small coffee shop in an iconic bluestone building. The coffee shop – ‘Tour de Café’ - is located in a building of 1930s vintage. It’s a bikkie’s haven where, most days, riders and bikes can be found in groups of half-dozen – typically all coloured shirts/shorts and leg muscles – slumped over their cappuccini beneath the umbrellas out front. Fifty metres further on there is access to Mordialloc Pier.
And the name of the modern town? ‘Mordialloc’ is a derivative of the name from the original Boonwarrung language: ‘Moody yallock’, with ‘yallock’ meaning ‘water or ‘creek’. Who would have thought it?
Peter Steele
09 April 2024Written 9 April 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - platypus150Melbourne, Australia31,158 contributionsWe wandered through the Reserve on our way to the beach and the pier. The lawns were extensive, with secluded spots for picnicing, public toilets (clean, but stinky), and a magnificent playground with shade cloth. It really does provide an attractive place to visit.Written 17 February 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- platypus150Melbourne, Australia31,158 contributionsIt was a nice long walk down the pier into the cool breeze. There were yachts off-shore racing, fisherfolk casting their lines from the pier, and a few people swimming nearby. Some work is happening along the estuary to improve the path and moorings. We saw the warning sign about a seal, but did not see him.Written 17 February 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- OldjackGreater Melbourne, Australia28,766 contributionsThe George Woods Reserve is a large grassed area south of Governor Road that runs alongside the Mordialloc Creek,. It has a kids playground and toilets and only a short walk from Mordialloc Station. It provides good views of the Mordialloc Creek and is a pleasant area of green. Governor Road is a usefull link between the Nepean Highway and the Frankston Frewwya some kilometers away.Written 6 March 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- platypus150Melbourne, Australia31,158 contributionsHazel Pierce Park is at the base of the pier and right next to the river. It has some shade, seating, BBQs and is a pleasant picnic spot on its soft lawns. The paths through here lead to pier, beach, and up the Creek.Written 2 January 2021This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- EndlessTravelsGreater Melbourne, Australia38,277 contributionsBeautifully maintained fenced dog parks that features two entrances; the back entrance is on Bear St (check out the ducks that congregate in the Heatherton Drain) or the main entrance on Crown Ave with plentiful off street parking.Written 1 June 2018This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- platypus150Melbourne, Australia31,158 contributionsI like the boats all lined up, the pedestrian bridge, and the boat ramp further up the Creek. It is a very photogenic spot. There are paths on both sides of the Creek and the walking is easy. You are close to the beach and the Pier.Written 2 January 2021This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- platypus150Melbourne, Australia31,158 contributionsThe reserve is developing nicely, with the native vegetation growing and the interpretive signs having much to say about the original inhabitants. There are basic toilet facilities and some shaded bench seats, with a skate park (beginners) also present.Written 7 May 2021This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- EndlessTravelsGreater Melbourne, Australia38,277 contributionsNice piece of bushland protected in suburban Melbourne.. plenty of birdlife around.
TIP: park on White StWritten 21 November 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - EndlessTravelsGreater Melbourne, Australia38,277 contributionsThis water tower is a quirky historical oddity and the last remaining example of an Edwardian railway water tower (1910), also known as a "Type H" water tower,in VictoriaWritten 6 November 2021This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- EndlessTravelsGreater Melbourne, Australia38,277 contributionsGreat playground located next to the recently refurbished football ground. Love the natural shade from all the native trees.Written 12 December 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
