Great Ocean Road

12 Apostles The mighty Twelve Apostles are world-recognised icons of the Great Ocean Road. These giant rock stacks soar from the swirling waters of the Southern Ocean and are a central feature of the spectacular Port Campbell National Park that extends from Princetown to Peterborough. The dramatic and imposing limestone cliffs that are the backdrop to the Apostles tower up to 70 metres, while the tallest of the rock stacks is around 45 metres high. The Apostles had their beginnings up to 20 million years ago with the forces of nature attacking the soft limestone of the Port Campbell cliffs. The limestone was created through the build up of skeletons of marine creatures on the sea floor. As the sea retreated, the limestone was exposed. The relentess, stormy Southern Ocean and blasting winds gradually eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches and when they collapsed, rock islands up to 45 metres high were left isolated from the shore. This has created the Twelve Apostles and a host of other stunning natural features along this truly remarkable stretch of coastline. Among them are Pudding Basin Rock, Island Arch, the Razorback, Muttonbird Island, Thunder Cave, the Blowhole, Bakers Oven, London Bridge and the Grotto. Extenisve boardwalks and viewing platforms ensure visitors experience sweeping, awe-inspiring vistas. While anytime of day provides great views, sunrise and sunset are particularly impressive for the blazing hues created.

Cape Otway Lighthouse This is the oldest surving lighthouse on mainland Australia and it began operating in 1848. It was built to help guide ships into the narrow Bass Strait entrance between the coast and King Island, following a string of tragic shipwrecks that claimed hundreds of lives. The lighthouse stands 91 metres above the ocean and has been replaced by an unmanned, solar-powered light. Tours of the historic lighstation operate daily.

The Road Before the road, travel was far from pleasant. In the 1870s, a trip from Lorne to Geelong was long and arduous via a rough coach track through dense bush to the railway at Winchelsea. Previously, the ocean supplied the link to the outside world. It's not surprising plans for an ocean road were widely acclaimed. But it took a world war to bring them to fruition. Key mover for a coastal link between Barwon Heads and Warrnambool was Geelong businessman and mayor, Alderman Howard Hitchcock. He saw it as a way of employing returned soldiers, creating a lasting monument to those who died in the war and providing a tourist route. He moved to form the Great Ocean Road Trust and set about raising the money needed to finance the gigantic project. Survey work began in August, 1918, and thousands of returned soldiers descended on the area to start work. It was back-breaking toil using picks and shovels - helped along with the odd stick of explosive - and horses and drays. Stage 1 - Lorne to Eastern View - was completed in 1922, but it was another 10 years before Lorne was linked to Anglesea and Cape Patton. The Country Roads Board built the section from Cape Patton to Apollo Bay.The full route was officially opened on November 26, 1932, as a tollway. Drivers paid two shillings and sixpence (25 cents) and passengers one shilling and sixpence (15 cents).

Loch Ard The dramatic loss of the Loch Ard in 1878, stands out as a tale of terrible carnage mixed with a little luck and a large slice of heroism. The Loch Ard was a three-masted square-rigged iron clipper ship built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1873. It was 262 feet 7 inches long and had a beam of 38 feet 3 inches. It had left Gravesend, England, on March 1, 1878, with 51 passengers and crew and cargo valued at more than $100,000. Three months into what had been an uneventful trip, disaster struck early on June 1, 1878. Days of fog and haze had prevented Captain Gibb from calculating his position for the critical pass into Bass Straitˇ¦s western entrance. It was known as "threading the eye of a needle" and only a small error could leave a ship well off course and in danger. On the night of May 31, Captain Gibb believed he was several miles off the Victorian coast and had sent a sailor aloft to watch for the Cape Otway light. As the haze lifted in the morning, the dreadful realisation that towering cliffs were only a short distance away sparked a desperate response. Captain Gibb ordered evasive action in the rough seas. Anchors were dropped to steady the ship while sails were set in an attempt to pull away from the coast. But the anchors began to drag and the ship was mercilessly crushed against the reef. Masts, rigging and rocks from the cliff smashed onto the decks. Some people were trapped, others were washed overboard. The Loch Ard began to roll, with the sea crashing all around, and sank within 15 minutes. People had little chance of survival. Ironically, only the night before, passengers and crew had held a party to celebrate the end of their journey. In the end, only two people were to survive the wreck: Tom Pierce, 18, a member of the crew, and Eva Carmichael, 18, who was travelling to Australia with her family. Tom clung to a lifeboat and was washed into a deep gorge that now bears the name of the Loch Ard. Eva, who could not swim, used a chicken coop and then a spar to keep afloat. Tom saw her in the waves, swam for her and eventually dragged her to safety after an hour-long struggle against the elements. He took Eva to the cave at the end of the gorge where she collapsed from exhaustion after five hours in the water. Tom went for help, running into a party from nearby Glenample station. They returned to the gorge to rescue Eva. Eva and Tom never saw each other after they recuperated at Glenample. She returned to Ireland and later married, Tom eventually became a shipˇ¦s captain. Today, you can see where the disaster unfolded, walk the beach where Tom and Eva struggled ashore and see the monument to the Carmichael family in the cliff-top cemetery. The few bodies recovered from the shipwreck are buried there. Glenample Homestead has extensive displays telling the story of the Loch Ard tragedy and the history of its survivors. It is open daily, except Tuesdays and Fridays.

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