Anglesea is a town in Victoria,

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 ...

. It is located on the Great Ocean Road in the

Surf Coast Shire The Surf Coast Shire is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of . It had a population of 32,251 in June 2018. It includes the towns o ...

local government area. In the , Anglesea had a population of 2,545 people. Originally known as Swampy Creek, the area's name was changed to Anglesea River in 1884 when the township was established. A Post Office under that name opened on 16 April 1886. and was renamed Anglesea in 1950. The name derives from

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, an island in North

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Alcoa of Australia operated a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

and open-cut coal mine near the town from 1969 until August 2015. The site is now the subject of restorative work. In February 1983, the

Ash Wednesday fires The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia in 1983 on 16 February. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by hot winds of up to caus ...

swept through the area, destroying many houses.

Tourism

There is a surge in population during the summer months, reaching a peak around

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

and

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

, as many

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 ...

residents arrive for the holiday season. Although the town's main beach usually has reasonable

surfing 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 ...

conditions, many surfers opt for the beach known as "Guvvo's", just west of town at the end of O'Donohue Road. Anglesea is also well known locally for its regular riverbank markets, which are held by the river on Anglesea's main street, the Great Ocean Road. The town's golf-course is renowned for its resident population of

eastern grey kangaroo The eastern grey kangaroo (''Macropus giganteus'': gigantic large-foot; also great grey kangaroo or forester kangaroo) is a marsupial found in the eastern third of Australia, with a population of several million. Although a large ''M. giganteus ...

s which graze on the fairways. In September the town hosts th
Angair
Wildflower Festival. Point Roadknight Back Beach Aerial Panorama

The Surf Coast Walk passes through the town and can either be followed north-east along the coastline to Torquay or south-east towards Aireys Inlet and Moggs Creek. Point Roadknight, Point Addis and Harvey Street are some of the tourist attractions along with several parks which surround the coastline. The Coogoorah Park is located towards the end of the River Reserve Road which boasts of a network of islands connected by boardwalks and bridges through wetlands.

Media

Anglesea is served by Surf Coast Times, a local newspaper for the Surf Coast published weekly on Fridays. Television services are received via a translator in the region, carrying the

channels, although TV coverage from the translator in the area is 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 ...

Sport

Anglesea 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

and Netball Club that both compete in the Bellarine Football League. The town is also home of the Anglesea Cricket Club which competes in the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association. Golfers play at the Anglesea Golf Club on Noble Street, home to a great many

kangaroos Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey ...

. Anglesea has a recently re-built

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. It is usually made of a specially designed 7–8-ply maple plywood deck and has polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboard ...

ramp which has led a controversial life, with the construction material having changed from

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

, and then

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

. The area has a variety of

locations that cater to both beginners and experienced surfers. Both the patrolled main beach and the sheltered beach at Point Roadknight provide a perfect surfing environment for beginners. More experienced and adventurous surfers can tackle the more exposed beaches to the north and south of the town, or several offshore reefs, which are accessible via boat or a lengthy paddle from shore. These " bombies" can produce challenging waves during large swells.

References

External links

Australian Places - AngleseaOfficial Great Ocean Road InfoAnglesea
- Official government tourism site
Anglesea Visitor Information - Anglesea.com.auAnglesea Community website - www.anglesea.community
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Surf Coast Shire Coastal towns in Victoria (state)

Tourism

Media

Sport

See also

References

External links