About Station Pier

Station Pier is Victoria's premier sea passenger terminal, accommodating visiting cruise ships, navy ships and tall ships.

To check arrival and departure times of cruise ships coming to Station Pier, view the Cruise ship schedule pages.

Each cruise ship visit contributes, on average,  one million dollars to Victoria’s economy.

The pier is also the mainland terminal for the Spirit of Tasmania, which provides a daily passenger, vehicle and freight service to and from Devonport, Tasmania. For information about days when the Spirit of Tasmania has a double sailing from Station Pier, please check the Spirit of Tasmania website.

Public access The pier is open to the general public from 6am to 9pm daily (for pedestrians only). However, the pier is closed to the public during cruise ship visits, some naval ship visits and other exceptional circumstances. Shipping hours of operation The pier is open to shipping 24 hours a day. Shipping services For information on services provided for visiting ships and home-porting, please visit our Station Pier Services page. Pier and berth information The pier is a finger-pier structure with four operating berths (two on each side). Vehicle access is via a central roadway. It has two terminal buildings - the inner building houses TT-Line's Spirit of Tasmania offices while the outer building is reserved for visiting cruise ships and navy or tall ship visits. The total wharf length is 933 metres with individual berths as follows:

Berth name	Length (m)	Depth (m)	Maximum draught (m)
Inner East (Tasmanian ferry - Spirit of Tasmania)	220	10.9	10.3
Outer East (cruise ship berth)	223	10.9	10.3
Outer West (cruise ship berth)	305	10.9	10.3
Inner West (cruise ship and navy ship berth)	185	10.9	10.3

Getting to and from Station Pier
The cruise terminal at Station Pier is only 15 minutes from Melbourne’s city centre, directly linked by a tram service (Route 109). Melbourne’s international airport (Tullamarine) is less than 20 minutes from the cruise ship terminal. Taxi services from the pier are provided on cruise ship visit days.

History of Station Pier
Originally called Railway Pier, it was officially opened on 12 September 1854 and the 150th anniversary was celebrated in September 2004.

The pier played a pivotal role in Victorians’ lives from the time it was opened, particularly for the arrival of gold seekers and settlers throughout the mid to late 1800s.

In 1861, the original pier was extended, to more than 661 metres (2171 feet). Eventually, the original pier could not accommodate the increasingly large and more powerful steamships of the early twentieth century so it was realigned, extended further and renamed Station Pier.

 The pier is heritage listed and the gatehouse at the entrance is of significant heritage and cultural importance.

Comings and goings
In August 1899, the first contingent of troops headed for the Boer War in South Africa left from Station Pier. In October 1914, 16 ships left Port Melbourne carrying troops, horses and supplies as part of Australia’s contingent for the Great War (World War I). Station Pier was also the place of return for the military hospital ships. The 1940s saw many troops embark for the Middle East, Britain and Singapore for World War II service.

Station Pier is intrinsically linked to Melbourne’s rich multicultural society with an average 61,000 overseas passengers arriving on an annual basis in Port Melbourne between 1949 and 1966. For many post-World War II immigrants Station Pier symbolises where their new life began.

Today, the pier has more than 500,000 local, interstate and overseas visitors, including migrant family and friends' reunions.