Portsea

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Portsea is a seaside resort town located 6 metres above sea-level and 93 km south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.  The 3944 postcode is the nation's most affluent, with an average taxable income almost $10,000 higher than Syndey's Darling Point or Point Piper.

Portsea is a popular holiday spot, located near the end of the Mornington Peninsula between the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay and wild surf of Bass Strait. The bayside is characterised by calm waters and gently sloping crescent-shaped beaches backed by venerable English trees and presided over by the 1927 Portsea Hotel. By comparison, the small sandy surf beaches along the ocean shore are turbulent and windy and are used for surfing and iron-man competitions. They are regularly broken up by rugged stony headlands and backed by cliffs and steep dunes bound by dense coastal scrub.

Gracious 19th-century mansions and gardens and a profusion of tennis courts demonstrate Portsea's long-standing and on-going popularity as a resort for the wealthy Melbourne establishment. However, stone implements and middens are indications of thousands of years of occupation by the Bunurong Aborigines.

Portsea is considered by many to be the hub of Melbourne's recreational scuba diving activities. No less than four scuba related shops operate from in its otherwise modest main street. Dive boats travel to sites both inside Port Phillip Bay and outside Port Phillip Heads, also known as The Rip. The Portsea Pier is the home to the spectacular leagy sea dragon, as well as many other fish species, including numerous pufferfish.

OCS Portsea, an army establishment was located just outside the town. The historic reserve became famous when Harold Holt, a former Prime Minister of Austrlaia, disappeared while swimming inside the facility at Cheviot Beach in 1967 and was officially presumed dead two days later.

In January, Portsea hosts the Portsea Pro-Am Classic, the Pier to Pub Swim, the Mellbourne to Hobart and Melbourne to Davenport Yacht Races and the Portsea Swim Classic.