Barwon Heads, Victoria
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Barwon Heads (previously known as Point Flinders) is a town on the
Bellarine Peninsula The Bellarine Peninsula (Wadawurrung language, Wadawurrung: ''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 wi ...
, near
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 ...
,
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. It is situated on the west bank of the mouth of the Barwon River below Lake Connewarre, and is bounded to the west by farmland,
golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...
s and the saline
ephemeral wetland Ephemerality (from the Greek language, Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and ...
of Murtnaghurt Lagoon. At the , Barwon Heads had a population of 4,353.


History

Barwon Heads lies within the territory of the Waddawurrung Balug clan, of the
Wathaurong The Wadawurrung nation, also called the Wathaurong, or Wathaurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people living in the area near Melbourne, Geelong, and the Bellarine Peninsula in the state of Victoria. They are part of the Kulin alliance. The ...
people. Its traditional name is Koornoo. Barwon derives from the Wathaurong word Barrwang or Baarwon meaning magpie. The river and upstream lakes ( Lake Connewarre and Reedy Lake) were frequented by Aboriginal hunters and fishermen, as well as the escaped
convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...
, William Buckley, who lived with the Wathaurong for 32 years. When European settlers first arrived in Port Phillip in June 1835, a camp was established at Indented Head.
Port Phillip Association The Port Phillip Association (originally the Geelong and Dutigalla Association) was formally formed in June 1835 to settle land in what would become Melbourne, which the association believed had been acquired by John Batman for the association fr ...
surveyor,
John Helder Wedge John Helder Wedge (1793 – 22 November 1872) was a surveyor, explorer and politician in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, Australia).G. H. Stancombe'Wedge, John Helder (1793 - 1872), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition Early life ...
, explored the
Bellarine Peninsula The Bellarine Peninsula (Wadawurrung language, Wadawurrung: ''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 wi ...
, including the Barwon and its lakes, in August 1835. It is unknown when colonists first took up land at Barwon Heads but, by the 1870s, a township was formed, with a post office 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 wealthier families of Melbourne and the Western District built houses here. The summer period still sees a large influx of holidaymakers to the town. In 1959, the closing scenes of the film ''On the Beach'', based on the novel of the same name by
Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name to protect his enginee ...
, about the end of human life on Earth, were filmed in the town. The Barwon Heads Golf Club clubhouse, dating from 1923 to 1924, located on Golf Links Road, is listed on the
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. ...
. The former Barwon Heads Bridge was also listed on the Register, but it was demolished in 2009 after being declared irreparable. A new bridge was constructed, which used components and design elements of the original bridge. A separate footbridge was built parallel to it.


Barwon Heads Bridge

The original Barwon Heads Bridge, crossing the Barwon River between Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove, was opened in 1927. Prior to that, there had been a rowing boat service across the river. The closure of the bridge was a central element in the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
television series '' SeaChange''. In July 2006, the
Victorian government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...
shelved plans to replace the
heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...
bridge with a new one. A proposal was put forward to align a new bridge with Geelong Road, permitting traffic to bypass the main shopping precinct and primary school, which would have required the demolition of three houses. An independent panel was appointed by the then Minister for Planning, Rob Hulls, to decide on a bridge location. Evidence was presented for and against the Geelong Road site and the existing site, with the conclusion that the Geelong Road alignment 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 to build a second bridge upstream. In 2010, a new Barwon Heads road bridge was constructed on the alignment of the existing one, making use of its components and design elements. A parallel pedestrian bridge was also built.


''SeaChange'' and tourism

During the late 1990s, Barwon Heads was the primary location of filming for the popular Australian television series, '' SeaChange''. 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
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
and real estate 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 developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...
s. Since then, the area has experienced a boom in tourist numbers during the summer months. Nearby Thirteenth Beach 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
levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...
banks in the 1950s. The artist Jan Mitchell 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. Mitchell went on to produce more than 100 bollards positioned along Waterfront Geelong.


Sport

The town has an
Australian rules 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 ...
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 ...
. It has made finals in a number of recent seasons, losing the grand final in an upset to Modewarre in 2018 but avenged that loss in 2019 winning its first premiership since 1993 by beating Torquay in the grand final. Barwon Heads has a cricket club which won five premierships in eight seasons (2005/06, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2010/11 and 2013/14). They defeated Queenscliff in the A grade final on Sunday March 15, 2014 by 102 runs at Jan Juc. Barwon Heads was relegated to A2 Grade, but won their way back to A1 with a premiership and the next season, in 2023-24, won the A1 premiership, defeating Anglesea at Jan Juc. They are currently competing in the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association. Barwon Heads also boasts a tennis, bowls, surf life saving, cycling, surfing, 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.


Notable people

The footballer Jaxson Barham and the entertainer
Barry Crocker Barry Hugh Crocker (born 4 November 1935
Official Barry Crocker website
) is an Australian
Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...
, the
cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
who won the
2011 Tour de France The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of Tour de France, the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France, Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 2 ...
, owns a house in the area and is regularly seen training on local roads.Riding buddies hail 'sensational' Cadel
ABC Online The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the Australian Government, federal government and is administered by a government ...
, 25 July 2011


References


External links


Australian Places – Barwon Heads

Barwon Heads town website

Barwon Heads bridge history
{{authority control Suburbs of Geelong Towns in Victoria (state) Coastal towns in Victoria (state) SeaChange Bellarine Peninsula