Mount Martha is a good-looking and varied little pocket of the Peninsula. Its small batch of shops has a warm, village feel, with cafes and gift stores, while the local landscape swings from houses on bush-lined streets inland down to bird-filled wetlands and colourful beach boxes by the sea.
Seachange Property believes Mount Martha’s cosy beachside location provides a lovely backdrop to this family-friendly area. You’ll find many loyal local families who have raised their kids in the area, as well as more mature couples enjoying a stress-free lifestyle filled with both beach walks and bush walks.
Mount Martha does get the summer tourists but its compact size means that it sees fewer than neighbouring towns, leaving it to get on with its laidback lifestyle of a refreshing swim in the morning or a bracing walk along the Balcombe Creek boardwalk.Mount Martha’s neat shopping pocket includes some lovely cafes like Via Battisti, as well as vintage stores in small arcades, a good supermarket and a quaint, old-school post office. Away from the water, you’ll find lush lunches at vineyards and places like The Briars. Being a family-friendly area means access to a number of schools, as well as a decent network of buses going in either direction.While the streets inland are home to neat units and ideal family homes with rambling gardens and green-lined streets uninterrupted by footpaths, Mount Martha also boasts an enviable share of some of the most exclusive houses on the Peninsula.
Mount Martha is a small, relaxed and family-friendly place to call home, full of natural beauty, both green and blue. In fact, nothing seems more natural than to settle into a cosy home on a tree-lined street or a luxury pad with a sparkling sea view. And with nearby towns perfect for a weekend drive, you’ll feel like you’re on permanent vacation.
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Mount Martha has its roots dating back to the 1840s when the township’s major role was that of farming. The Briars Homestead in the town’s east was constructed from 1848 to 1851 and was used by Alexander Balcombe until 1876 as he farmed the land surrounding it and tended to 100 acres of vineyards. The homestead was named after the lodging of the same name in Saint Helena. Dame Mabel Brookes collected Napoleonic memorabilia which was also donated to the Mornington Peninsula shire; some is on display at the house.
In 1891, the Martha Hotel, designed by architects Tappin, Gilbert and Dennehy was constructed in a Federation Queen Anne style. Today, the building now known as Mt. Martha House serves as a community centre and is Victorian Heritage listed. As the population grew, Mount Martha Post Office opened around 1902.
During the Second World War, Mount Martha’s Balcombe Creek camp hosted the United States Marine Corp’s 1st Marine Division in late 1942 following their involvement in the Battle of Guadalcanal. After the conclusion of the war, it was progressively relocated or demolished until 1999. The area is now known as Balcombe Estuary and has barbecue facilities as well as a children’s play area in the west, and residential allocations were made in the east. Also during the Second World War, Mount Martha House had extensive use by the military and functioned as a Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) barracks up until 1978.