Capel Sound is a suburb on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 61 km (38 mi) south of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Capel Sound recorded a population of 5,246 at the 2021 census.[1]

Capel Sound
MelbourneVictoria
Truemans Road Recreation Reserve
Capel Sound is located in Melbourne
Capel Sound
Capel Sound
Location in metropolitan Melbourne
Map
Coordinates38°22′37″S 144°52′19″E / 38.377°S 144.872°E / -38.377; 144.872
Population5,246 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density1,140/km2 (2,950/sq mi)
Established15 September 2016
Postcode(s)3940
Area4.6 km2 (1.8 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Mornington Peninsula
State electorate(s)Nepean
Federal division(s)Flinders
Suburbs around Capel Sound:
Port Phillip
Tootgarook Capel Sound Rosebud
Boneo
Capel Sound aerial panorama. April 2024.
Capel Sound from above during sunrise. April 2024.

A distinguishing landmark feature of Capel Sound is the Tootgarook Swamp, the largest example left of a shallow freshwater marsh in the Port Phillip bay region. The swamp is also described by Melbourne Water as a ground water dependent ecosystem. The 381 hectare swamp is found on the lower section of the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. A large portion of the Tootgarook Swamp is zoned as residential and industrial, with roughly half of the actual swamp inside the green wedge and half within the urban growth boundary.[2]

History

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Rosebud West Post Office opened on 12 January 1938 and closed around 1996.[3]

The town kept the name of the post office until an effort to change the name began in 2015. Proponents hoped a name change would distance the town from being seen as only an economically disadvantaged suburb of nearby Rosebud. About 56% of residents surveyed voted in favor of the name change. On 15 September 2016, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council officially changed the name from Rosebud West to Capel Sound.[4] The new name was derived from an 1836 survey chart of the area, and was already in use by local businesses such as The Capel Sound Shopping Village.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Capel Sound (Suburbs and Localities)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 July 2022.  
  2. ^ "SAVE TOOTGAROOK SWAMP". SAVE TOOTGAROOK SWAMP.
  3. ^ Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 14 March 2021
  4. ^ Harding, Allison (13 September 2016). "It's official: Rosebud West loses 'stigma' name and becomes Capel Sound". Mornington Peninsula Leader. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  5. ^ Harding, Allison (27 July 2015). "Rosebud West residents hope new name will lift struggle town stigma". Mornington Peninsula Leader. Retrieved 9 September 2021.