Stay far from the maddening crowd. Balnarring, 2km inland from a clean, crescent-shaped sandy beach fronting Westernport Bay, is a great place to relax on the Mornington Peninsula – away from the throng of holiday-makers who crowd the Port Phillip Bay side.
The Morning Peninsula is Victoria’s most accessible regional leisure and beach peninsula just 75 minutes by car from the city via Mornington Peninsula Freeway and Moorooduc Highway. Balnarring is located near Merricks at the junction of Frankston-Flinders Road and Balnarring Road and is midway between Hastings and Flinders (12km away). Dromana is 17 km away; Frankston is 30km.
The recently opened EastLink has greatly extended Balnarring’s accessibility and appeal to Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. A regular bus service between Frankston and Flinders stops at Balnarring.
Balnarring’s 2,400 permanent residents reside almost exclusively in houses spread across 100hectres of residential-zoned land – an average of just 24 persons per hectare. The median house price in Balnarring is $385,000 – on par with the region. Residents are typically families with school-age children making home loan repayments of between $700 and $800 a month.
Balnarring’s primary school is located in Civic Court behind the main Balnarring shopping centre at the six-way road junction at the centre of the town.
The Balnarring Picnic Racing Race Club holds six picnic race meetings a year at Emu Bay Racecourse. Races are held on the third Saturday of the month with the feature Balnarring Cup run on Australia Day. The racecourse is also the venue for the Emu Plains Market which is held during the summer months.
One popular attraction of Balnarring is the Balbirooroo Wetlands with boardwalks around its lagoon which is frequently ringed by Ibis. The wetlands are behind the school and shops.