Port Fairy (historically known as Belfast) is a town in south-western

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. It lies on the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

in the

Shire of Moyne The Shire of Moyne is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and at the 2021 ...

, west of

Warrnambool Warrnambool (; Eastern Maar, Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2021, 2021 census, Warrnambool had a populati ...

and west 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 ...

, at the point where the

Moyne River The Moyne River, a perennial river of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Course and features The Moyne River rises near , from the edge of the lava flows west-southwest of Penshurst. T ...

enters the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

History

Prior to British colonisation in the 19th century, the Port Fairy area, then known as Pyipkil or Ummut, was inhabited by the Pyipkil gunditj clan, also known as the Yarrer gunditj. They spoke the Peek Whurrong language. The region's ecology consisted of dense

Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...

-dominated bushland and large swamps. The Pyipkil gunditj constructed stone and timber fishing-weirs called ''yereroc'' across creeks to catch fish and eels. They also cut canals called ''vam'' to drain swamps and made woven eel-pots called ''arabine'' to trap eels. The

Eastern Maar The Eastern Maar people are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples whose traditional lands are in the south-western part of the state of Victoria, Australia. It is a name adopted by a number of Aboriginal Victorian groups who identify as Maar ...

people are recognised as the traditional owners of the Port Fairy area. In the early 19th century whalers and seal hunters used the coast in this region. The crew of the sealing cutter ''The Fairy'' (Captain James Wishart) reportedly gave the bay its current name in 1828. Whatever its origins, the name "Port Fairy" had come into general use by 1835. John Griffiths established a

whaling station Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

in 1835, and a store opened in 1839. In 1843 James Atkinson, a

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

solicitor, purchased land in the town by special survey. He drained the swamps, subdivided and leased the land, and built a harbour on the Moyne River. He named the town "

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

" after his hometown in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In the 1840s significant conflict between pastoral squatters and

Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

occurred. 1842 saw 27 squatters from the Port Fairy neighbourhood signing a letter to Charles Latrobe, the Superintendent of the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

, reporting many "outrages" committed by the "natives" and requesting the government provide security. These clashes, later known as the

Eumeralla Wars The Eumeralla Wars were the violent encounters over the possession of land between British colonists and Gunditjmara Aboriginal people in what is now called the Western District (Victoria), Western District area of south-west Victoria (Australia ...

, formed part of the battle over land use and resources between traditional owners and Europeans across the Victoria's western district. The post office opened in 1843 as "Port Fairy", but was renamed "Belfast" on 1 January 1854 before reverting to the original name on 20 July 1887. Agriculture developed in the region, and Belfast became an important transport hub. By 1857 the town had a population of 2,190. In 1887 the town was renamed "Port Fairy" as a result of an Act of Parliament. A railway extended to the town in 1890, but closed in 1977. It has been converted into the

Port Fairy to Warrnambool Rail Trail The Port Fairy - Warrnambool Rail Trail is a 37.5 kilometre rail trail in southwestern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The official opening of the trail took place on 31 May 2012 at the Koroit, Victoria, Koroit Railway station building. ...

. The Port Fairy Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990.

Traditional ownership

The formally recognised

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

for the area in which Port Fairy sits are the

people, who are represented by the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC).

Town

At the , Port Fairy had a population of 3,340. Its main industries are

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

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, and it is the home port for one of Victoria's largest fishing fleets. A pharmaceutical factory owned by

Sun Pharma Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited ( d/b/a Sun Pharma) is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai. It manufactures and sells pharmaceutical formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in more t ...

is located on the outskirts of the town. Port Fairy is home to two primary school education facilities, The Port Fairy Consolidated School and St. Patricks Parish Primary School. Port Fairy was voted as one of the

world's most livable cities City Quality of Life Indices are lists of cities that are ranked according to a defined measure of living conditions. In addition to considering the provision of clean water, clean air, adequate food and shelter, many indexes also measure more ...

with a population under 20,000 after winning the 2012 International LivCom award. Port Fairy has a rich history, and 50 buildings are protected by the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

. Griffiths Island nearby holds a breeding colony of the

short-tailed shearwater The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in A ...

or Australian muttonbird.

Festivals

The

Port Fairy Folk Festival The Port Fairy Folk Festival is an annual four-day music festival based in the historic fishing village of Port Fairy in Victoria, Australia. History The festival began on 2 December 1977 under the theme of "Australian and Irish Traditional M ...

is held during the Labour Day long weekend in March each year. The festival has run continuously since 1977. In 2016, Port Fairy celebrated the 40th edition of the Folk Festival from 11 to 14 March. Over the 40 festivals there have been around 3,500 acts including over 500 international acts and over 12,000 musicians to an audience of beyond 240,000 ticket holders and 1,000,000 attendees. The inaugural Port Fairy Spring Music Festival was held in 1990, founded by British/Australian composer

Michael Easton Michael Easton (born February 15, 1967) is an American film, television and voice actor, writer, and director. Although the Emmy-nominated actor may be best known for his work on the series ''Ally McBeal'', '' VR.5,'' ''Total Recall 2070, One Li ...

and pianist Len Vorster, and is run annually. The open-air festival, which is free to attend, focuses on classical and contemporary ensemble music, and also includes drama, orchestral and choral music,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, opera, and dance. Its past

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

s have included Vorster, Marco van Pagee (who also founded the

Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition Musica Viva, also known as Musica Viva Australia, is a national organisation in Australia dedicated to chamber music. History Music Viva was founded in Sydney in 1945 by Romanian-born Vienna-educated violinist Richard Goldner, who had fled Naz ...

in 1991 and was in 2009 artistic director of

Chamber Music Australia Chamber or The Chamber may refer to: Organizations and government *Chamber of commerce, a form of business network *Legislative chamber, a deliberative assembly within a legislature *Debate chamber, a room for people to discuss and debate Arts ...

), Erich Fackert, Stephen McIntyre,

Anna Goldsworthy Anna Louise Goldsworthy is an Australian classical pianist, writer, academic, playwright, and librettist, known for her 2009 memoir '' Piano Lessons''. She has held several academic positions, and is director of the Elder Conservatorium at th ...

and

Iain Grandage Iain Andrew Grandage is an Australian composer and music director, best known for his compositions for theatre, dance and concert. In May 2018, the Perth Festival appointed Grandage as artistic director. Early life Grandage initially lived in B ...

. its program includes 24 performances over three days, and the artistic directors are Monica Curro and Stefan Cassomenos. The annual Moyneyana Festival is held over summer from Christmas Eve to 26 January. The annual Tarerer Festival, taking place over a weekend, is a celebration of the region's multicultural identity, its history relating to its

Aboriginal peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

(Koori, in particular those of the Warrnambool district), and the environmental significance of the land. It features music and dance as well as art and performance workshops, and includes music from a variety of cultures, including non-Indigenous ones. Begun in 1996 by a group of people in Framlingham Forest, it is the only festival of its kind in Victoria. The name derives from the Aboriginal name for

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

, the nearby area of volcanic lakes. In 2008, it featured the rock reggae band of the 1980s,

No Fixed Address In law, no fixed abode or without fixed abode is not having a fixed geographical location as a residence, commonly referred to as no fixed address. This is applicable to several groups: * People who have a home, but which is not always in the ...

, as well as a

Sudanese The demographics of Sudan include the Sudanese people () and their characteristics, Sudan, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. In Sudan' ...

band.

Sports and recreation

Port Fairy also has a highly rated 18-hole links golf course, the Port Fairy Golf Club, situated on Woodbine Road. 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, the Port Fairy Seagulls, which plays in the

Hampden Football League The Hampden Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league based in South-Western Victoria, with clubs located in towns along or near the Princes Highway from Camperdown to Portland. The league is a major country ...

. Port Fairy has many surfing spots for all skill levels including the Old Passage, a right hand rocky break at the old entrance to the Moyne river; the Lighthouse, a right-hand point break off Griffiths island; and the East Beach with many right and left beach breaks.

Notable people

* Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet (1899–1985), Nobel Prize-winning virologist, died in Port Fairy * John Coleman (1928–1973), Australian rules footballer * Brian Dunlop (1938–2009), painter
/ref> *

Denis Napthine Denis Vincent Napthine (born 6 March 1952) is an Australian former politician and veterinarian who served as the 47th premier of Victoria from 2013 to 2014. He held office as the leader of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party of Austr ...

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

2013–2014 * T. J. Ryan,

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

1915–1919 *

Jock Serong Jock Serong is an Australian writer. Serong grew up in Melbourne’s bayside suburbs and completed his secondary education at Xavier College in Kew. From years 4-8 he attended Xavier’s Kostka Hall junior campus in Brighton. He graduated fro ...

, writer

Climate

References

External links

Visit Port Fairy Moyne Shire - official tourism websitePort Fairy Folk Festival Port Fairy Accommodation - local tourism website
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Coastal towns in Victoria (state)

Fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

Western District (Victoria) Whaling stations in Australia Seal hunting Whaling in Australia Fishing communities in Australia