Beaumaris is one of the most exclusive Bayside addresses in Melbourne. It is located on Port Philip Bay between Black Rock and Mentone 14km south east of Melbourne.

Beaumaris is on a headland that is surrounded on three sides by water. The coastline consists of a mixture of sandy beaches and steep cliff sides. There are cycle and pedestrian paths all along the coast line and it is common to see people jogging along or out for a family walk along the waterfront. There are numerous picnic areas on the foreshore as well as a yachting club.

Ricketts Point
The most prominent landmark of this suburb is Ricketts Point, a 115 hectare marine sanctuary and popular beach area. The coastal waters from Table Rock Point in Beaumaris to Quiet corner in Black Rock and approximately 500 metres to seaward formally became the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary under state legislation passed in June 2002. The declaration of Ricketts Point as a marine sanctuary was a significant environmental achievement. The battle to win the Sanctuary began as early as 1986. However, it was June 2002, over fifteen years later, after much controversy, that Victorian State Government legislation was finally passed protecting the area.
The underwater interest at Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary is considerable. Sandstone rock platforms extend from the shore, supporting a great diversity of flora and fauna. There are secluded caverns and under-rock ledges hosting colourful sponge gardens. Fifty-one species of fish have been identified in the Sanctuary, the most common being southern hulafish, zebra fish, dusky morwongs, moonlighters and Australian sweep. The Sanctuary is also home to smaller and less mobile animals including abalone, winkles, sea urchins, brittle stars, sea stars and crabs. Crucial to this rich marine eco-system are the algae, seaweeds and sea grass meadows which provide a beautiful palette of verdant green, red and brown.
The traditional aboriginal owners and protectors of the area were the Bunurongs who numbered around 300 when Beaumaris and Black Rock were being developed by white settlers. However by 1877, the tribe had been decimated through dispossession and disease. More recently, the Ricketts Point Marine Care group have formed and act as conservation watchdogs for the Sanctuary. Monitoring biodiversity is one of the important activities of the group.
The zone between Table Rock in Beaumaris and Quiet Corner in Black Rock once featured the amphibious native mammal rakali and 13 species of crabs, including the bay's only hermit crabs. Now you can find only two crab species, and one of those is an introduced European crab.
Ricketts Point is also home to the Beaumaris Life Saving Club, which holds yearly Life Saving Carnivals in the Summer.
Ricketts Point also has it’s own café on the foreshore. The café has been established for the last 50 years and has rapidly expanded throughout the years. It is a lovely place to sit and have coffee whilst watching the waves roll in.


Education
There is only one high school, and that is the Beaumaris Campus of Sandringham Secondary College, catering to years 7-10 (the senior campus for years 11-12 is situated in the neighbouring suburb of Sandringham).
There are three primary schools:

Beaumaris

Beaumaris North

Stella Maris (Catholic)

Recreation
• Beaumaris is home to many parks and reserves.
• Much of Australia's premiere golf course, Royal Melbourne, resides in and about Beaumaris.
• Popular beaches can be found at Ricketts Point & Dalgetty Rd.
• Rickett's Point Tea House aka Rickett's Point Beachside Cafe
• Restaurants and cafes can be found in both the major shopping strips as well as on Beach Road, near Keys Street, over looking the bay.
• Major shopping strips include The Concourse, located on Reserve Road, and Seaview Shops, located on Balcombe Road
• There are several fishing spots frequented by anglers in the area. However, much of Beaumaris' waters are in a marine protection zone.
• Beaumaris Library and Community Centre

Transport
• Major thoroughfares include, Balcombe Rd, Reserve Rd, Weatherall Rd, Beach Rd, Haydens Rd, and Charman Rd.
• Beaumaris is serviced regularly by the 825, 600, 922, and 923 bus routes. Connecting with the Cheltenham, Mentone, and Sandringham railway stations.
• Bayside's bike path runs through Beaumaris, alongside Beach Road
Shopping
• The main commercial centre of Beaumaris is situated off Reserve Road, bounded by shops fronting the North, South and East Concourse, creating a central square of gardens and car parking. A couple of smaller centres are located on Balcombe Road and along Keys Street at the coastal boulevard of Beach Road.


Sport
• A circle of golf courses formed by Royal Melbourne, Sandringham, Cheltenham and Victoria clubs creates a peninsula which adds to the suburb’s exclusivity.
• Beaumaris has both a yacht club and a motor yacht club, a bowling club and tennis courts.

History of Beaumaris
In 1845 James Moysey leased grazing land in the area and shortly afterwards purchased 32 hectares. He named his property Beaumaris Park, which derives from the Welsh coastal resort where Edward I built the Beau Marais castle. (The reason for Moysey's choice is unclear as he came from Devon.)
Beaumaris was beyond the railway extensions to Sandringham (1887) and Mordialloc (1881), but its coastal scenery drew the attention of entrepreneurs. In 1888 a Beaumaris Park Estate was auctioned, a horse tram service from Sandringham was provided and the Beaumaris Hotel was begun. Named as The Great Southern Hotel it was sited east of Ricketts Points, overlooking Beaumaris Bay and protected from westerly winds, with 61 rooms, a tower and promenade. Well back from the bayside the Royal Melbourne Golf Club established its course in 1901. Keefers boat shed and jetty, near the hotel, were built at about the same time.
In 1914 the horse-tram service ended. An electric tram service from Sandringham, to Black Rock was opened in 1919, but the extension to Beaumaris did not come until 1926. It lasted only for five years. A school was opened in the Beaumaris hall in 1914, transferring to a permanent building on a site purchased from a market garden in 1917. Clarice Beckett painted many evocative canvasses of Beaumaris, 1918-35.
The Black Rock-Beaumaris Progress League was active in the 1930s, chiefly aimed at attracting visitors to take "delightful walks along rugged cliffs overlooking the sapphire blue waters and among inland wild flowers". Attractions included Honey-suckle Dell, Dingley Dell and Ricketts Point. Whilst housing was scattered, a contemporary municipal publication stated that land at Beaumaris always commanded high prices and its development into an area comparable to Toorak had been foreshadowed when the tram was connected. That particular prediction awaited the postwar years.
In 1959 the Beaumaris North primary school was opened, built on land that had previously been covered with moisture-loving ti-tree and manna gum. The land had been acquired six years before when increasing population was apparent. In 1958 the beginnings of a high school came with 90 students housed in the Methodist church hall, and the permanent site was occupied later that year.
The largest reserve is the Donald MacDonald reserve, named after the teacher and journalist whose nature writings were widely read. He died at Black Rock in 1932. MacDonald's ideas were continued in 1953 when the Beaumaris Tree Preservation Society was formed for conserving bushland in the face of land clearances for housing.
During 1987-96 the median house price in Beaumaris was about 87% higher than the median price for metropolitan Melbourne.

Property