Smiths Beach

History

The locality of Smiths Beach and the beach from which it takes its name are named after H. Smith, who acquired the majority of the land on which the present-day locality is situated in 1874. The land was later developed for dairy farming before being acquired for residential subdivision during the 1950s. The town of Smiths Beach was created by the Smiths Beach Estate, which was announced in 1960 by entrepreneurs Hans Bachrach and Max Naumburger. They envisaged a holiday town of 430 blocks and a small group of shops. Shortly after its announcement, the owners of land on the opposite (west) side of Smiths Beach Road began advertising a rival project known as the Beachcomber Estate, with 360 blocks. Prospective buyers of land on both estates had entered contracts with the developers that were conditional on the plans being approved within a few months. However, this ended up taking over two years, by which point most contracts had been cancelled. Full approval for the Surf Beach Estate was eventually granted in 1963, followed by part of the Beachcomber Estate in 1965. A second section of the latter was approved in 1966.

Most-observed species

• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  8,222
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  7,580
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  6,429
• Cape Barren Goose

  Cereopsis novaehollandiae Latham, 1801 · Aves
  6,252
• Australian Ibis

  Threskiornis molucca (Cuvier, 1829) · Aves
  5,993
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  5,801
• Pacific Gull

  Larus pacificus Latham, 1801 · Aves
  5,551
• Little Wattlebird

  Anthochaera chrysoptera (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  5,178

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2026-05-09
  4 km ESE of Mirboo North, Australia
• M 4.3 — 2024-02-08
  3 km E of Leongatha, Australia
• M 2.9 — 2021-11-05
  4 km S of Rosebud, Australia
• M 2.8 — 2015-03-10
  3 km NNE of Pakenham, Australia
• M 3.6 — 2014-12-03
  4 km SW of Pakenham, Australia
• M 2.8 — 2014-01-13
  1 km SSE of Lilydale, Australia