Barwon Heads is a coastal township on the
Bellarine PeninsulaThe Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...
, near
GeelongGeelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria, Australia and is the largest regional centre in the state. It is a port city with an urban population of 160,991 people, and one of the largest provincial cities in Australia...
,
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. It is situated at the mouth of the
Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula....
below
Lake ConnewarreLake Connewarre is a shallow estuarine lake located on the Barwon River, on the Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong, Victoria. The lake is linked to the sea by the mangrove-fringed channel of thelower Barwon River estuary...
.
The township of Barwon Heads was surveyed in 1870 but remained sparsely populated for years, a Post Office finally opening in the area on 15 December 1889 (renamed Connewarre East in 1890 when a new Barwon Heads PO opened in the township).
Fishing was the mainstay of the town in its early years.
Barwon Heads is a coastal township on the
Bellarine PeninsulaThe Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...
, near
GeelongGeelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria, Australia and is the largest regional centre in the state. It is a port city with an urban population of 160,991 people, and one of the largest provincial cities in Australia...
,
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. It is situated at the mouth of the
Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula....
below
Lake ConnewarreLake Connewarre is a shallow estuarine lake located on the Barwon River, on the Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong, Victoria. The lake is linked to the sea by the mangrove-fringed channel of thelower Barwon River estuary...
.
History
The township of Barwon Heads was surveyed in 1870 but remained sparsely populated for years, a Post Office finally opening in the area on 15 December 1889 (renamed Connewarre East in 1890 when a new Barwon Heads PO opened in the township).
Fishing was the mainstay of the town in its early years. In the 1920s and 1930s the town became a popular holiday resort and a number of the richer families of Melbourne built houses here. The summer period today still sees a large influx of holidaymakers to the town.
In 1959 the closing scenes of the film
On the BeachOn the Beach is a 1959 post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's novel of the same name featuring Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins...
based on a Neville Shute novel about the end of the world was filmed in the town.
Barwon Heads Bridge
The
Barwon Heads Bridge was opened in 1927, crossing the
Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula....
between Barwon Heads and
Ocean GroveOcean Grove is a seaside town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Bellarine Peninsula. At the 2006 census, Ocean Grove had a population of 11,274.-History:...
.
Prior to this there was a rowboat service across the river. The bridge was used in filming the ABC television series
SeaChangeSeaChange was a popular Australian television show that ran for 39 episodes from 1998 to 2001 on the ABC. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, Tom Long and Kerry Armstrong...
.
In July 2006, the
Government of VictoriaThe Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...
shelved plans to replace the heritage-listed bridge with a new one.
A proposal was made to align a new bridge with Geelong Road, permitting traffic flows to bypass the main shopping precinct and primary school, but with the consequence of taking out one home. An independent panel was appointed by the then Minister for Planning,
Rob HullsRobert Justin Hulls is the Deputy Premier of Victoria. He has been a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 1996, representing the electorate of Niddrie...
to decide on a location. Evidence was presented, for and against Geelong Road, and the existing site, and concluded that Geelong Road was unsuitable for environmental, social, economic reasons. On 16 March 2007 it was announced that the current bridge would be improved and there were no plans at present to build a second bridge upstream.
SeaChange & Tourism
During the late 1990s, Barwon Heads was the primary location of filming for the popular Australian television series,
SeaChangeSeaChange was a popular Australian television show that ran for 39 episodes from 1998 to 2001 on the ABC. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, Tom Long and Kerry Armstrong...
. In the past decade Barwon Heads has become subject to what is colloquially known in some parts of Australia as the 'seachange effect'.
Since the
SeaChange television series first aired in 1998 there has been a significant increase in
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
and
real estateReal estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location.
"Real estate" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin...
sales and development (both commercial and residential) in the area. This has resulted in a very substantial increase in property and land values, making the town an ideal location for property developers.
Nearby
Thirteenth BeachThirteenth Beach is located west of Barwon Heads, Victoria, Australia and the name is taken from the close proximity of the beach to the thirteenth hole of the Barwon Heads Golf Course....
is a popular surfing location, the beach is named for its proximity to the 13th hole of the golf course. The town was subject to flooding, including a flood that lasted some weeks in 1952, until the construction of
leveeA levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial slope or wall to regulate water levels...
banks in the 1950s.
Jan MitchellJan Mitchell was an Australian artist, born in Melbourne, known for her painted bollards and work as a television graphic artist....
erected her first bollard sculptures in Barwon Heads. Visitors to the area will encounter the colourful soldier and parrot bollards which designate a route for the local children from the primary school, through the streets to the bike path, park and playground. She then went on to produce more than 100 bollards at the
Waterfront GeelongWaterfront Geelong is a tourist and recreation area on the north facing shores of Corio Bay in Geelong, Australia. The area was once part of the Port of Geelong, falling into disuse before being redeveloped during the 1990s.-Attractions:...
.
Sport
The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the
Bellarine Football LeagueThe Bellarine Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Bellarine Peninsula region of Victoria, Australia, formed in 1971....
. Its last premiership was in 1993, it has made finals in a number of seasons since but has failed to make it to another Grand Final.
Barwon Heads also has a cricket club which has won two premiership in the last three seasons 2005/2006 and last season 2007/2008. They are currently competing in the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association.
Barwon Heads also boasts a tennis, bowls, surf life saving, soccer and pony club.
Golfers play at the Barwon Heads Golf Club on Golf Links Road, or at the course of the Thirteenth Beach Golf Links on Barwon Heads Road.. Barwon Heads has great recreational fishing from its river to the heads, it caters for all types of anglers. For expert tips and more information on fishing in the area visit
Barwon Heads Angling Club and speak to the club president Ken Stevens.
External links