Ocean Grove is a seaside town in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, located on the

Bellarine Peninsula The Bellarine Peninsula ( Wathawurrung: ''Balla-wein'' or ''Biteyong'') 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 ...

. At the 2016 census, Ocean Grove had a population of 14,165.

History

In 1869, American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

s established a permanent religious camp community on the coast at

Ocean Grove, New Jersey Ocean Grove is a unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Neptune Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. It was so successful that they decided to spread their camps overseas, including to Australia. Following a collaboration with the Victorian Methodists, an initial camp was set up near Point Lonsdale. By 1882 they needed to acquire a larger area, so they could establish their Australian Ocean Grove community. The site chosen was on the eastern side of the mouth of the Barwon River, overlooking

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island states and territories of Australia, state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Bo ...

. In 1887, Charles James and James Grigg purchased, surveyed and subdivided land into 2,500 blocks bearing the covenant "''no part of the above Land shall be used for the Manufacture or Sale of Malted Spirituous, or Vinous Liquors''". Due to this covenant, no bars or public houses could sell liquor within the town limits. The Ocean Grove Coffee Palace was built for the Methodist and

Temperance Society The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders empha ...

, the first

church service A church service (or a service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day S ...

was held on 1 January 1888, and the population was such that a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

opened on 14 September 1888. In 1927, the town was linked by the

Barwon Heads Bridge The Barwon Heads Bridge is a road bridge and a separate pedestrian bridge across the Barwon River between Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove, Victoria, Australia. The bridge is the only crossing of the Barwon River between Geelong Geelong ( ) ( ...

Barwon Heads Barwon Heads (previously known as Point Flinders) is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the west bank of the mouth of the Barwon River below Lake Connewarre, while it is bounded to ...

on the other side of the river, previous access being by rowboat. Many streets were named after important people in the Methodist community, while the local youth camp was run by the Methodist (later Uniting) Church from the 1920s until 1996. In 2014, the

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the ''Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act'' 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the Tribunal sits 'below' the Magistrat ...

(VCAT) ruled that the liquor ban was no longer enforceable. The township now has a number of bars that can legally serve alcohol.

Collendina

Collendina is a small section of Ocean Grove. When the town of Ocean Grove was established it was a Methodist town, and it was the ruling of the Methodists that it would remain a

dry town A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across ...

. Because Ocean Grove was free of alcohol outlets, the town of Collendina grew up around the Collendina pub and caravan park just outside the Ocean Grove boundary. Eventually the two towns merged to form one urban area. The prohibition was officially lifted in Ocean Grove in 2006, although many cafes and restaurants were already beginning to serve alcoholic drinks.

Today

Now the largest town on the

, Ocean Grove has the largest

shopping centre A shopping center ( American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known colle ...

on the peninsula. Only a few blocks from the beach, it is popular with tourists and locals alike. In 2005 a new shopping centre was built in the Collendina area, allowing the locals to shop at both Coles and

Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shop ...

supermarkets. Ocean Grove has a resident population of about 12,000 which, during the school summer holidays, swells to four times this number as tourists from Melbourne, Geelong, interstate, and overseas flock in. The area offers surf

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc s ...

es,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits faci ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other act ...

, bushwalking and other outdoor activities. The Ocean Grove Nature Reserve preserves some remnant native

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

and contains walking tracks. Significant infrastructure development in Ocean Grove during 2008-2009 has resulted in two soccer pitches, indoor swimming complex complete with a 25m pool and a four-star Skate Park with Bowl suitable for boards, blades and bikes. A Target Country Store was opened in October 2009 as part of a mini-mall, featuring Gloria Jeans. Upgrades to the 'Grubbers' Football clubrooms are scheduled for 2009. While

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

makes the largest contribution to the local economy, during the slower months a larger proportion of local income is derived from

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

and

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the edible flower, flowers, ...

growers, and the local

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

. One of the local newspapers is th
Ocean Grove Voice
In December 2019 the Kingston Village shopping complex located on Grubb Road opened to the public. It is the biggest shopping complex on the peninsula, housing a McDonald's, Woolworths, Dan Murphy's, Aldi, Caltex petrol station, Zack's dog bath and a Bakers Delight alongside numerous eateries and specialty stores.

Sport

The town has an

Australian Rules 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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

football team competing in the

Bellarine Football League The Bellarine Football Netball League (BFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Bellarine Peninsula region of Victoria, Australia. Established in 1971 as the Bellarine & District Football League, the competition ...

. The Surfside Waves Soccer Club competes in the Geelong Regional Football Association. Golfers play at the course of the Ocean Grove Golf Club on Guthridge Street. The town hosts a Bi-annual Geelong gaming competition with teams from around the greater Geelong region competing for a minor cash prize and qualification for the state competition held in Broadmeadows. Other Sports: Shell Road Complex & Surrounds * Indoor Volleyball * Indoor Basketball * Indoor Soccer (during summer) * Indoor Basketball * Indoor Netball * Indoor equestrian * Outdoor Paintball * Ping Pong League * Competitive E-Sports There are also two tennis clubs with modern facilities - Ocean Grove Tennis Club - Madeley St and Surfside Tennis Club - Shell Road (next to the new aquatic and sports centre).

Popular culture

Ocean Grove was featured in the 2006

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

Kenny Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". ...

'', while the bridge between Ocean Grove and

featured in the popular ABC

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

SeaChange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howar ...

''. The town is also the home town of fishing personality Ross Gould. The rock band

The Murlocs The Murlocs are an Australian rock band from Melbourne. They are composed of Ambrose Kenny-Smith on vocals and harmonica, Cal Shortal on guitar, Cook Craig on bass guitar, Tim Karmouche on keyboards, and Matt Blach on drums. They were formed in ...

formed in Ocean Grove. The metal band Ocean Grove is named after the town.

References

External links

Bellarine Historical Society: History of Ocean Grove

Great Ocean Rd info

Ocean Grove Voice newspaper

Ocean Grove Business Association
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Coastal towns in Victoria (Australia) Bellarine Peninsula Suburbs of Geelong