Hampton Street History

Hampton, like Brighton, started off as a place of market gardens in the 1840s and 1850s, supplying fruits and vegetables for Melbourne. In the 1850s, interest started to grow in the beaches in the area as places for daytrips and holidays for Melbournians, particularly Picnic Point, on the beautiful bay foreshore of Hampton. This expanded when a railway line was built to Brighton Beach in the 1860s. In 1887, the railway line was extended to Sandringham and electrified in May 1919, making it the first electric-powered train line in Victoria. The station servicing Picnic Point was initially known as Retreat, after the Retreat Hotel at the Point.

However, several landmarks in the area, including the beach, had been named Hampton, after a local market gardener Dyas Hampton, and as wealthy landowners began buying subdivided land in the area, they favoured the name Hampton as it sounded more regal. The name was set when the station was renamed Hampton. Hampton Post Office opened on 1 July 1909.

The population continued to grow at the start of the new century, with war commission homes being built for returned WW1 soldiers. Rapid development occurred in the 1930s when the market gardens were subdivided, and today Hampton is considered an established Bayside suburb. In 1957 Hampton North Post Office opened near South Road.

The railway station remains, although not the original building, this dates back to the forties. Much of what still forms Hampton St today remains the original street from over 100 yrs ago. Clues to its heritage can still be found if you peer closely. An original Gas Street Lamp from the 1890's still stands outside the National Trust registered Hampton Hall, and the classic Hampton Hill sign from the sixties can still be seen above Brumbys near Willis street.

There is a marked historic walk that can be undertaken of the area, details and a map are available from Bayside City Council