St Kilda Pier Redevelopment

Image above: Construction has been full steam ahead

Full steam ahead

We’re seeing fantastic progress on the new look St Kilda Pier with the curved pier structure now evident onsite. If you haven’t already, it’s a great time to make a trip down for a glimpse of the new pier and the wider, more visitor friendly spaces as they’re being built. The existing pier remains open to the public for the first 400m towards the kiosk. 

Since starting back after a Christmas break, the team has continued to install new steel piles including those required nearest the shore. To allow pile installation at the new visitor terrace area, we’ll soon close public access to the outer end of the pier at the St Kilda Pier Kiosk and Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron Marina. Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron members and services will be able to access the marina using a temporary floating pontoon. 
We've been installing extensive service conduits out towards the kiosk, marina and penguin viewing area, as well as retaining saltwater feed-in pipes for the St Kilda Sea Baths. Excitingly, the beautiful Darwin Stringybark decking that will give the pier its warm nautical Port Phillip look has arrived onsite and is now being progressively being installed.

Above left: concrete deck panels starting to shape the new forecourt area. Above right: timber and conduit being laid. Above centre: Darwin Stringbark decking will give the pier a warm nautical feel. 

The kiosk

Set against one of the best sunsets in Australia and on one of Victoria’s most visited attractions, St Kilda Pier Kiosk was built in 1904. Originally known as Parer's Pavilion and later known as Kerbys Kiosk, the current building was rebuilt in 2006 as a replica of the original following a fire. With an extensive history of flamboyance and fun, perhaps of most note is its time during World War 2 when St Kilda was booming. The kiosk held popular dances with a platform built over the second floor balcony. Many Melburnians still recount memories of watching or being taught to jitterbug by American servicemen at Kerbys or of gramophone music playing as they walked down the pier’s 400m+ length.

To improve commercial viability, the new kiosk was built with a new section to the rear to house a restaurant and bistro, and a viewing deck above. The kiosk building is managed by Parks Victoria and intended to be offered for commercial lease in time for the new pier completion. The lease will be offered and selected by a formal Expression of Interest (EOI) process. Further information on this opportunity will be provided soon. Information on Parks Victoria's commercial EOI process can be found here.

Penguins

The rock shelter of the breakwater that attracted penguins to St Kilda in the first place has been kept in place and the construction team and park rangers have been hearing (and smelling) the penguins daily. Along with regular visits from dolphins and rakali, the area has continued to provide a feast of small fish for the marine life that calls the top end of Port Phillip home.

To minimise impact on penguin breeding, the new penguin viewing platform piles were installed in prior to the start of their breeding season in 2022. Work to complete the exciting new timber penguin viewing boardwalk will continue this year, with timing being adjusted to avoid breeding and moult periods. We’re really looking forward to the new viewing deck experience and having visitors and volunteers back to safely view St Kilda's famous penguins.

Interestingly, the penguins who called the area home prior to the project starting and witnessed the daily arrival of visitors to walk all over and look directly into their nesting areas are likely to be the very same penguins benefiting from the new and improved conditions and separation from visitors. The average life of a Little Penguin is seven years but slightly longer at St Kilda. This is attributed to the lower presence of natural predators like seals and sharks and a high amount of food like small fish.

Other pier projects

Victorians have a strong connection with the coast. Piers and jetties provide access to enjoy our coastal environments and to be active and healthy. They’re also popular seaside destinations for visitors and tourists. Parks Victoria manages 42 piers and jetties, most of which are in Port Phillip and Western Port, with a combined 32 million visits a year!

Most piers in Port Phillip have been rebuilt and repaired many times since they were first built with piers tending to have a 50-year design life. Working with the Department of Transport and Planning, Parks Victoria has an ongoing role in planning, designing and prioritising pier maintenance and redevelopment projects.

This year, thanks to significant investment from the Victorian Government we’re working on several exciting pier projects. This includes:

• Altona Pier
• Rye Pier
• Flinders Pier
• Fishermans Jetty, Mornington
• Hampton Pier
• Warneet Jetties