Apollo Bay
| Apollo Bay Victoria | |||||||||||||
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 Apollo Bay township and bay from Mariners Lookout to the north-east | |||||||||||||
  Apollo Bay | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°45′0″S 143°39′0″E / 38.75000°S 143.65000°ECoordinates: 38°45′0″S 143°39′0″E / 38.75000°S 143.65000°E | ||||||||||||
| Population | 1,095 (2011)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3233 | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 15.0 m (49 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Colac Otway Shire | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Polwarth | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Corangamite | ||||||||||||
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Apollo Bay is a coastal town in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the eastern side of Cape Otway, along the edge of the Barham River and on the Great Ocean Road, in the Colac Otway Shire. The town had a population of 1,095 at the 2011 Australian census.[1]
It is now a tourist destination, though it is smaller and quieter than other nearby places such as Lorne. It is also host to the annual Apollo Bay Music Festival and the Great Ocean Sports Festival.
In winter to spring, southern right whales come to the area mainly to breed, to give birth their calves, and to rise them in the warmer, calm waters of South Australia during their migration season. Less frequently, humpback whales can be seen off the coast.
History
Apollo Bay was part of the traditional lands of the Gadubanud or King Parrot people of the Cape Otway coast.[2]
In the 1840s the Henty brothers established a whaling station at Point Bunbury on the western end of the bay. The bay was named by a Captain Loutit in 1845 when he sheltered his vessel, the Apollo, here from a storm.
The first European settlers were timber cutters in the 1850s who subsequently established sawmills.[3] Farmers later moved into the area and a small settlement on Apollo Bay named Middleton developed. A Post Office of that name (with a fortnightly mail delivery) opened on 1 May 1873 (relocated to the township of Krambruk in 1881 and renamed Apollo Bay in 1898).[4] During this period almost all access to the area was by sea.
The township of Krambruk (later to be renamed Apollo Bay) was established in 1877, and a school was open by 1880.
With the upgrade of the road to the town in 1927 and the completion of the Great Ocean Road in 1932, the town became a tourist destination and an important fishing port.
In 1936 a submarine telegraph and telephone cable from Apollo Bay to Stanley provided the first connection to Tasmania from the mainland. The Apollo Bay Telegraph station closed in 1963 and is now a museum.
On July 10, 1932 the coastal steamer Casino sank while attempting to berth at the town jetty. Ten lives were lost. Earlier shipwrecks have occurred along the Cape Otway coastline.
Events and festivals in Apollo Bay
Events and festivals held in Apollo Bay include:
- Great Ocean Road Marathon[5]
- Apollo Bay Seafood Festival [6]
- Apollo Bay and Otway District Show [7]
- The Apollo Bay Music Festival (first held in 1993).[8] A poster for the festival of 1999 by Jeff Ragus was featured on a postage stamp issued by Australia Post in 2006.
Sport
- The Apollo Bay Surf Lifesaving Club was established in 1952 as a result of a meeting held on the foreshore by interested townspeople and Surf Lifesaving Victoria officials. The Apollo Bay SLSC became the ninth club to be affiliated with Surf Lifesaving Victoria. It is now affiliated with the new amalgamation between two Victorian lifesaving organisations: Life Saving Victoria. ()
- The Apollo Bay Sailing Club aims to provide a wide range of opportunities in sailing to a diverse range of abilities and age groups.[9]
- Apollo Bay Golf Club is on Nelson Street- [10](website) and Apollo Bay Pony Club - (website).
- The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Colac & District Football League.[11]
- See also Sports & Recreation on the Apollo Bay Community Website
- Apollo Bay has hosted overnight stops on the Great Victorian Bike Ride five times (1991, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2009), including serving as the host for the rest day on the last four of those visits.[12]
People born or raised in Apollo Bay
- Neil Melville – an actor born in Sydney, but spent his childhood in Apollo Bay
- Sid O'Neil, Ted O'Neil, Michael Fitzgerald – members of the rock band The Vasco Era
- H. A. Willis – essayist, spent his early childhood in Apollo Bay
Photo Gallery
Category:Apollo Bay, Victoria on Wikimedia Commons
References
- 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Apollo Bay (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
- ↑ Ian D. Clark, pp119-123, Scars on the Landscape. A Register of Massacre sites in Western Victoria 1803-1859, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1995 ISBN 0-85575-281-5
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald, "2005-02-17 Travel- Apollo Bay", The Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved 2008-08-14
- ↑ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 2008-04-11
- ↑ www.greatoceanroadmarathon.com.au
- ↑ www.apollobayseafoodfestival.com
- ↑ www.apollobay.org.au
- ↑ www.apollobaymusicfestival.com
- ↑ Apollo Bay Sailing Club web site
- ↑ Golf Select, Apollo Bay, retrieved 2009-05-11
- ↑ Full Points Footy, Apollo Bay, archived from the original on May 16, 2008, retrieved 2008-07-25
- ↑ "History of the Great Victorian Bike Ride". Official site. Bicycle Network Victoria. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
External links
Media related to Apollo Bay, Victoria at Wikimedia Commons
Apollo Bay travel guide from Wikivoyage- Apollo Bay - Community Website
- Apollo Bay - Official government tourism website.
- Apollo Bay
- Apollo Bay - Tourist Information.
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