Port of Melbourne Corporation

The Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) is a statutory body established by the Victorian Government to develop and manage the Port of Melbourne, Australia's busiest container port. The Corporation commenced operations on 1 July 2003, when it took over the management of the port from the Melbourne Port Corporation. On 1 September 2010, the corporation was re-established with a new charter under the Transport Integration Act.

The Melbourne Harbor Trust was established in 1877 after several boards of inquiry to improve access for shipping to Melbourne. The Trust engaged the British engineer Sir John Coode to advise on port improvements. Coode produces a scheme involving a large dock basin (Victoria Dock), and straightening the river through a new cut (now known as the Coode Canal. Dredging and dock construction began in 1880, with the canal opening to shipping in 1886, Victoria Dock opening in 1896 and dock-work and continuing into the 1920s.

The North and South Wharves were extended downstream, and in the 1930s-50s Appleton Dock was constructed, followed by Swanston Dock, and Webb Dock.

In 1978 the Harbour Trust was reformed as the Port of Melbourne Authority, moving from its Market Street head office to the World Trade Centre (Melbourne) in 1983. The Port of Melbourne Corporation was formed on 1 July 2003, taking over the former Melbourne Port Corporation, and the Victorian Channels Authority.

The Port of Melbourne Corporation administers the Yarra River downstream of Bolte Bridge, and operates several wharfs and piers on the Yarra River and Port Melbourne that comprise the Port of Melbourne. The Port of Melbourne is Australia's largest container and general cargo port, handling around 37% of the nation's container trade. More than forty shipping lines, make around 3100 ship calls a year to Melbourne, providing services to ports in all major parts of the world. The port is at the north of Port Phillip Bay. It is serviced by more than 100 nautical miles of shipping channels and fairways between the Port Phillip Heads and the berths on the Yarra River, at Williamstown and Station Pier, Port Melbourne.

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