1859, after a petition from local farmers demanding access to a public jetty, and it quickly became an important port of call for the network of steamers plying Port Phillip Bay, both for goods and passengers. The Petrel, the first vessel serving the direct run to Melbourne's Hobsons Bay, was reportedly doing a brisk trade by 1866, delivering hay, butter, eggs, cheese, potatoes, wheat, flour, geese, turkeys, poultry, bacon, pork, and pigs, and returning with supplies of tea, sugar, coffee, wine, beer, spirits, and other commercial items. The jetty was extended in 1870, allowing sufficient depth for shallow draft vessels to dock at any tide, and soon daily steamers from Melbourne were calling. The first to pick up passengers and cargo was the Despatch, in 1872. The direct run to Melbourne provided markets for large deliveries of potatoes and onions from around Portarlington, and lines of carts laden with produce were a common sight heading down to the port. At times up to eight or nine lighters would be loading at the jetty with cargo for Melbourne, as well as a steamer. The jetty was reconstructed in 1872, and storage sheds added. In 1871, there were 343 inhabitants of Portarlington. Portarlington's picturesque setting and fine sandy beaches attracted visitors from Geelong and Melbourne, and the regular steamer service secured the town's progress as a popular seaside resort. A public bathing house existed from as early as 1868, and a replacement was built in 1877. Bathing on the open beaches was prohibited in early days "out of respect for public sentiment". A brickworks was established in 1870, producing bricks, tiles and pipes from the high grade Portarlington clay, for local use, but it was soon exporting to Geelong and Melbourne. When the flour mill closed down in 1874, the brickworks moved into the building. It seems to have ceased production during the 1890s depression. The first State School in Portarlington (No. 1251) opened in the Wesleyan Church building in 1873, with 73 pupils. Following a dispute with church authorities, it was soon relocated to the Temperance Hall (built in 1874). The permanent red-brick school building, located on the current site, was formally opened on 27 Apr 1882, as State School No. 2455. It featured a bell-tower, a central fireplace, and two large rain-water tanks. A free public library opened in the ante-room of the Temperance Hall in 1883. A well-furnished building,