History of Frankston
____
Frankston is a small suburb in Victoria, Melbourne. It is one of many Victorian places that has a rich history and has strong links with both British colonisation as well as the aborginals of Australia. Today we are going to take a look into the fascinating history of this small suburb and delve into the interesting facts about this small place.
During the time of Frankston’s settlement in the mid-1800’s, there were many interesting natural landmarks that stood in the area. There was Mount Eliza to the south of Frankston as well as Kanook Creek which runs through Frankston and down all the way to Port Phillip Bay. This land was surveyed in 1854 with the prospect of turning it into a village, and due to the water supply and drainage around the area it was deemed the perfect place to colonise and settle.
Where did Frankston get its name?
Frankston is a small town that is unclear about the exact origins of its name. There are two stories that are possibly the cause of this namesake however it is unclear which of these is the true origin. There are two men which the town of Frankston could be named after: General Sir Thomas Franks or Frank Stone. The first of these men was a war hero and faught valiantly in the Sikh war of India between 1848 and 1849. He is the most likely candidate for the namesake of the town. The other man, Frank Stone, was a settler. There is also a man called Charles Franks who was killed by aboriginals in 1836 however it is unlikely this is the namesake.
The village
When Frankston became a settlment in 1857, it was a fishing village. There were less than 150 people in Frankston and this remained the case all the way upto 1880. In 1882, a railway line from Mordialloc was extended to Frankston and this made transport links to this small village much easier for other settlers and outsiders. In the 1880’s the village also built a library, police court, coffe shop, and mechanic’s institute. Kananook Creek was originally a source of beautiful water however it was diverted to an artificial canal and as a result it began to cause waterholes that gave the village a bad reputation. As a result in the late 1800’s the population of Frankston dropped by a third.
Becoming a town
In the 1900’s electricity and gas systems reached Frankston and the Frankston high school opened it’s doors in 1927 allowing it to grow in population and transform into a town. Even when the depression hit in the 1930’s, the population of Frankston actually grew, and it makes us wonder what magic Frankston bookkeepers were performing. The war had an impact on Frankston as with the rest of the world, and the low price of land caused a boom in cheap houses being built, further increasing the population.
A new city
By the time the 1960’s arrived, Frankston had become a city and today it is a popular place for families as well as business owners. The population in 2011 was 35,009 and it continues to grow and thrive and the years go on.
Frankston
____