Brighton has a fascination for the people of Melbourne dating back some 150 years to the time of the suburbs founding father, Henry Dendy. As the colony of Melbourne developed, Brighton began to prosper, and its leading citizens built substantial manor homes on their acreages. The seaside nature of the locale was very popular as far back as the late 1900s with the wealthy but weary citizens of Melbourne flocking to Brighton for a beach holiday. Brighton is now regarded as one of the most desirable residential addresses in Melbourne. It is well served by a number of outstanding private schools, offers excellent shopping and restaurants in principally Church Street and Bay Street, is favoured with a comprehensive train, tram, and bus public transport system, and boasts a number of spacious parks with not one but two public golf courses, and finally, has several kilometres of coastline including a number of sandy, safe swimming beaches. Located approximately 10 kilometres south from the central activities district, Brighton quite rightly deserves its title of...the jewel of the bay.