Adam G

This is a man-made beach constructed after the high-rise apartments which back it were built. Funny how they couldn't come up with a more imaginative name for it! It's a sandy beach however, it's fairly small; about 250-metre-long and up to 80-metre-wide. However, it's a nice and fairly quiet beach with relatively flat and calm water which makes this beach for kids to shallow paddle on a hot day.

Additional to the sand and beach, there's some great amenities and facilities including a the nearby Beacon Cove restaurants, D'lish Fish Fish & Chips shop and Foodstore, and in nearby Westport Reserve there's picnic tables, free electric BBQ facilities, water drinking tap and toilets, the Westport Reserve Playground (a small playground), and car parking.

I recall watching New Beach being constructed, first large boulders were brought in and then the complete area was filled with beach sand trucked in from other locations and spread by bulldozer. Apparently some 120,000 tonnes of sand was brought in to make the beach. This part of Port Melbourne has seen significant change from its maritime industrial past and now with direct access to this new beach, the apartments along the foreshore here have become a highly desirable place to live.

The South African (2nd Boer) War Memorial was designed by Arthur Peck and unveiled on 12 March 1905. The memorial pays tribute to and commemorates the St Kilda soldiers who fought and those that died in the South African (Boer) War, from 1899 to 1902. The memorial is a tall, tapering shaft, built in brick covered by faience work and stands on a granite-clad plinth. On the west side panel, there's a life-size figure of a soldier dressed in Australian khaki, and facing the sea. The panel on the north side lists the 7 soldiers that died in the war and two other panels record the names of the 58 who fought and returned.

With more than 400 stores stretching along Burke Road and across Camberwell Junction, this is one amazing shopping precinct and with major chain stores like Woolworths, Coles, JB HiFi and hundreds of boutiques, it's easy to spend hours and hours even just browsing and window shopping though this vibrant precinct. As well as the majors, the precinct includes a big variety of boutiques in fashion, shoes, handbags, beauty salons and day spas, gift and homewares, and a host of cafes and restaurants that offer great takeaway, eat in, family friendly or fine dining experiences. The big problem is the limited car parking.

Previously known as The Well but after redevelopment renamed Camberwell Place, it's over 3 levels and for a neighbourhood shopping centre, it's a reasonable size. Having majors like Coles, Liquorlnd, JB Hi-Fi, Brumby's Bakery, Terry White Chemist and Medibank, makes it a popular local shopping destination. It also has a number of smaller specialty retailers including the gourmet grocer Coltivare, Rainbow Meats butcher, the Fish & Sushi Well, Wheel & Barrow Homewares, Rex Espresso for coffee and eats, and the Nail Affair and Hair Hub salons.

The centre has good services and amenities including a great parent's room on Level 1 however, being a popular shopping destination and in the heart of the Camberwell shopping precinct, one of its biggest problems is car parking. It's a bit cramped and can be quite busy during the weekends and holidays.

St Patrick's Cathedral Shop is not where you would expect it to be and in fact, it's near the Presbytery at the Lansdowne St end of the Cathedral precinct and thus some distance away from the Cathedral itself at the Gisborne St end. Fortunately, there are some A-frame boards with directions to the shop.

As you will readily see from my photos here, it's quite a small shop but nonetheless it does have a reasonable selection of beautiful Catholic/Christian items including gifts and gift wrapping paper, statues, crucifixes, paintings, books, brochures and cards. I found the staff to be super friendly are helpful.