Local Culture
Hastings is one of the 'gateways' to the lower Mornington Peninsula, and is located on the coast of Westernport Bay. Surrounded by farmlands it is still very much a country town with a strong sense of local community.
In 2004 Hastings was the overall winner of the Victorian Tidy Town Awards held by the Keep Australia Beautiful Network.
It has a population of over 7,000 and several major franchises have set up there. The opening of a K-Mart shopping centre on 19 October 2006 was the first large department store in the town.
Hastings was the seat of the Hastings Shire, before this was merged into the Mornington Peninsula Shire, and still has many buildings associated with federal, state and local governments. It has the headquarters of the regional traffic police. There is a modern library in the centre of town, outside of which is a statue of former resident and famous footballer, John Coleman. Other facilities include a public hall, and a modern aquatic centre.
Hastings has two public primary schools - Hastings Primary and West Park Primary. There is also a private Catholic school named St Marys Primary School, as well as Western Port Secondary College, a state high school (formerly known as Hastings High School).
In October 2003 the town was host to The Princess Royal. During her short stay she inspected the decommissioned submarine HMAS Otama, a vessel she launched in the 1970s.
Read more about this topic: Hastings, Victoria
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