Flinders is one of Mornington Peninsula’s most charming villages. Once a quiet little fishing village (local mussels are still sold from its pier), the village now presents an eclectic mix of contemporary and heritage. With its clifftop location and historic streetscape shaded by broad verandahs, the village has slowly become more sophisticated without losing its natural charm. Flinders now features excellent cafes, antique shops, art galleries, boutiques, a general store selling local produce and wines, and specialty stores such as an historic bakery and artisan chocolate shop.

It’s just a five-minute walk to the sea and to Victoria’s oldest golf course perched right on top of the cliffs – a badly hit ball may sail straight into the ocean below.

Flinders also has a foot in the beautiful Mornington Peninsula countryside and farmlands which sweep down right to the village edge. On the southern side of West Head, the ocean breaks over the basalt rocks of Mushroom Reef Marine Sanctuary which is home to one of Victoria’s best intertidal and subtidal rock platform reefs, popular for beachcombing, diving and snorkelling.

Nearby Mornington Peninsula National Park offers a rugged coastline of cliffs and ocean beaches from Flinders to Cape Schanck along its southern frontage onto Bass Strait. To the west of Flinders, just off Boneo Road, is The Blowhole which includes walking tracks along the rocky coastline and over huge basalt boulders.

The village of Flinders was named after the intrepid explorer, Matthew Flinders, who with fellow explorer, ship’s surgeon and botanist George Bass, sailed from Sydney in 1798 to prove that ocean divided mainland Australia and Tasmania. Bass Strait was then named in honour of George.