Travel: Mornington Peninsula’s Antiques Roadshow at the Tyabb Packing House

The Mornington Peninsula (where I hail from originally) is located in the S.E tip of Port Phillip Bay, about 1 hour’s drive outside of Melbourne.  It’s a sundrenched and beachy part of Melbourne which features serene and quiet, toddler friendly beaches in sheltered Port Phillip Bay, along with colourful bathing boxes. On the other side of the peninsula there’s another series of beaches – dangerous, wild, surf beaches that are notorious for riptides. The craggy and sharp coastal cliffs look down upon beautiful rock pools where a treasure trove of sea life lurks. Within the Mornington Peninsula you can find a series of amazing wineries, distilleries, breweries, pony breeders, restaurants, cafes, antique dealers, hobby farms and quirky attractions. It’s a great place to live or to visit if you ever head to Melbourne.

Unlike in the city of Melbourne and all of its enormous range of suburbs, the Mornington Peninsula has a unique vibe. The atmosphere here in Spring/Summer is akin to somewhere in southern Italy or Spain in the summer, or in Cornwall/south west Wales; or Byron Bay in NSW. The pace of life here is slower I find people here are a bit more relaxed and friendly compared to in the city.

Living away from this place has made it easier for me to appreciate its unique and unhurried rural beauty when I come back. So here are a couple of untapped treasures of the Mornington Peninsula that I discovered on a recent trip.

Tyabb Packing House

This is a gigantic antiques warehouse. It’s a must-see for fans of the TV show Antiques Roadshow, or general collectors of knick-knacks and lovers of retro nostalgia. Here you will find over 2 acres of little shops selling antiques. The little shops are set up in an appealing way, reminiscent of an colonial town. There’s a dog cafe where you can buy doggy treats, a post office, a vintage red train that has been converted into a cafe. Each shop offers a selection of old and salvage antiques from across the decades. You will find every conceivable style of every concievable item you can imagine here.

Address: 14 Mornington – Tyabb Road, Tyabb, Victoria, Australia
Open Thursday to Sunday
10 am – 5 pm

Some of the highlights for me:

• Mid century Danish and Swedish furniture with its original leather upholstery. A four piece lounge suite retailing at $4,200.
• Art Deco clocks and marble side-boards that featured copper hand-sculpted fawns and 1920’s ladies frolicking on top of them.
• A hand-painted and hand-made pelican, sculpted with salvaged metal and featuring an intricately rendered cheeky grin, swimwear thongs and sunglasses.
• Retro landline phones from all eras, including the always beautiful and nostalgic circular dial on the telephone. I feel endlessly nostalgic and incredibly old when I see these and remember using them!
• A toy teddy bear wearing a soldier’s outfit from 1915 – there’s a story there and it’s probably very sad. Just like at the Toy Museum in Kudowa Zdroy in Poland, this place was full to the brim with soulful stories of lives and loves of the past.

Who the hell ever thought they would need any of this crap. If you go to Tyabb Packing House you will be amazed at all of the useless but beautiful miscellany you will need in your life.