Aireys Inlet, Victoria
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Aireys Inlet is a town located on the
Great Ocean Road The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage-listed stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia, between the Victorian towns of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and dedica ...
, southwest of
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Aireys Inlet is located between Anglesea and Lorne, and joined with Fairhaven, Moggs Creek, and Eastern View to the west. Many
surfers Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...
holiday in Aireys Inlet to take advantage of the popular Fairhaven beach. As the inclination of the beach can change dramatically between years, the surf is regarded as unpredictable. Swimmers should take note there is a strong
rip current A rip current (or just rip) is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore by cutting through the lines of bre ...
. Painkalac Creek, which separates Aireys Inlet from Fairhaven, forms a
salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...
or inlet behind the
sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
s before it cuts through to the ocean. Due to low water levels in the inlet it is not often that the inlet breaks through. Aireys Inlet is also famous for
Split Point Lighthouse Split Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in Aireys Inlet, a small town on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia. History Originally called Eagles Nest Point, the lighthouse was constructed in 1891. For 27 years, three lighthouse keep ...
which was featured in the popular children's TV show
Round The Twist ''Round the Twist'' is an Australian children's comedy drama television series which follows the supernatural adventures of the Twist family, who leave their conventional residence to live in a lighthouse, in the fictional coastal town of Port ...
. There is also a horseshoe-shaped reef at Step Beach which forms an excellent swimming hole at low tide. The town's main attraction, the
Split Point Lighthouse Split Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in Aireys Inlet, a small town on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia. History Originally called Eagles Nest Point, the lighthouse was constructed in 1891. For 27 years, three lighthouse keep ...
, overlooks the inlet. The lighthouse has made Aireys Inlet an icon along the
Great Ocean Road The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage-listed stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia, between the Victorian towns of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and dedica ...
.


History

In the early 19th century, before British settlement, the escaped convict William Buckley lived here in a primitive hut eating fish, shellfish, wild raspberries and sugar ants. Aireys Inlet was known to the Aboriginals of the time as ''Managwhawz''. The town takes its current name from John Moore Cole Airey, who settled in the area in 1842. The Post Office opened on 1 April 1893.


Population

At the , Aireys Inlet had a population of 802. 83.4% of people were born in Australia and 88.3% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 53.9% and Catholic 16.1%.


Geography

Fairhaven, Moggs Creek, and Eastern View are in the same postal area as Aireys Inlet.


Climate

Aireys Inlet possesses an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
( Köppen: Cfb), with tepid, relatively dry summers and mild, wetter winters. Average maxima vary from in January and February to in July while average minima fluctuate between in February and in July. Mean
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
is moderately low (averaging per annum), but rainfall is frequent, as Aireys Inlet receives 152.1 precipitation days annually (with a maximum frequency of rain in
winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...
). Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 7 February 2009 to on 28 July 1990.


Beaches and coastline

While the coastline at adjacent Fairhaven is a long uninterrupted sand beach, the coast at Aireys Inlet is a series of rock shelves, interrupted by sandy swimming beaches, most of which are relatively secluded. Each beach has its own character, a result of differing lengths, orientation and nearby rock formations. Beaches include Sandy Gully, Steppy Beach and Sunnymeade.


School

Aireys Inlet has one school, Aireys Inlet Primary School (P-6), which until the end of 2016 was a campus of the then Lorne-Aireys Inlet P-12 College.


Sport

*
Australian football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
: The Aireys Inlet Eels Football Club competes in the AFL Barwon junior competition. *
Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
: The Aireys Inlet and District Tennis Club competes in the Geelong Tennis Association.


Literature and media

During the early 1950s the Australian crime author
Arthur Upfield Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 – 12 February 1964) was an English-Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte of the Queensland Police Force, a mixed-race ...
lived at Aireys Inlet. His novel ''The New Shoe'' (1951) is based on the township and the lighthouse. Some of the novel's characters drew on local identities. Many scenes from the
children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...
''
Round the Twist ''Round the Twist'' is an Australian children's comedy drama television series which follows the supernatural adventures of the Twist family, who leave their conventional residence to live in a lighthouse, in the fictional coastal town of Port ...
'' were filmed at or around the area of the Split Point Lighthouse. In 2005 the
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
movie ''
Salaam Namaste ''Salaam Namaste'' (transl. ''Hello Greetings'') is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Siddharth Anand, in his directorial debut, and produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film star ...
'' was produced in Melbourne with many scenes being shot around Aireys Inlet, Fairhaven and Anglesea. At low tide it is possible to walk (or scramble) around all these rocks and beaches, making it possible to walk along the beach, all the way from Eastern View - the historical start of the Great Ocean Road, all the way to Anglesea. Much like Anglesea, Aireys Inlet is served by Surf Coast Times, a local newspaper for the Surf Coast published weekly on Fridays. Television services are received via a
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
in Anglesea, carrying the
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
channels, although TV coverage from the translator is very low. Radio services are received on AM and FM from Melbourne and
Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
.


1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires

Aireys Inlet was devastated by the infamous 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires in which a large number of houses were burnt down. However, after a brief lull, interest in the area resumed and has been steadily climbing since. Properties, especially those with an ocean view, are becoming increasingly sought after, some going for greater than A$1 million.


Heritage listed sites

Aireys Inlet has a number of heritage listed sites, including: *
Great Ocean Road The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage-listed stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia, between the Victorian towns of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and dedica ...
* Split Point Lightstation Complex"Split Point Lightstation Complex (H2270)"
''
Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...
.''
Heritage Victoria Heritage Victoria is a branch of the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning. It is the regulator responsible for administering the Heritage Act 2017. The Heritage Act provides for the protection and conservation of the cultural heritage ...
. Retrieved 2014-03-23.


Notable people

*
John Airey John Moore Cole Airey ( – 17 July 1893) was a politician in colonial Australia, member of the New South Wales Legislative Council 1847 to 1848. Airey was born in London,''1851 England Census'' the second son of Sir George Airey and the Hon. ...
, the town's founder, for whom it was named * William Buckley, British convict who lived in the area before the town's origin


References

*


External links

*
Archived
2009-10-24)
REIV Aireys Inlet Market Insights, Auction & Private Sale Results
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Surf Coast Shire Coastal towns in Victoria (state) Great Ocean Road