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Torquay, Victoria

Torquay (/tɔːrk/ tor-KEY) is a seaside resort in Victoria, Australia, which faces Bass Strait, 21 km south of Geelong and is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road. It is bordered on the west by Spring Creek and its coastal features include Point Danger and Zeally Bay. At the 2021 census, Torquay had a population of 18,534.[2]

Torquay
Victoria
View from Point Danger, looking towards the Torquay surf beach
Torquay
Coordinates38°20′0″S 144°19′0″E / 38.33333°S 144.31667°E / -38.33333; 144.31667
Population18,534 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density0.540255/km2 (1.39925/sq mi)
Established1871
Postcode(s)3228
Elevation22 m (72 ft)
Area34,306 km2 (13,245.6 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Surf Coast Shire
State electorate(s)Polwarth
Federal division(s)Corangamite

History edit

Torquay is situated on Wadawurrung country which is part of the Kulin nation that surrounds Port Phillip Bay. From the 1860s, picnickers began to frequent the location, which was originally known as Spring Creek, after the watercourse along its south-western edge,[3] but it was named Puebla in the 1882 Victorian Municipal Directory. James Follett, who settled there in 1871, came from Torquay, the seaside town in Devon, England, and at his suggestion the name Torquay was officially adopted in 1892.[4] The Post Office opened on 20 August 1894.[5] On 3 April 1908, the Spring Creek bridge was built, connecting the town to Anglesea.[6]

In 1891, the Joseph H. Scammell sailing ship struck the reef near Point Danger in Torquay and subsequently became wedged on the reef and as a result the ship broke up in the heavy seas.[3] The cargo of the Scammell was washed onto the beach of Torquay and was looted. The anchors of the Scammell are still on display at the Torquay front beach and the Torquay boat ramp.

 
Torquay Beach from the air.

In 1900, a primary school was opened in the newly built Presbyterian church, moving to the recreation hall in 1901, a permanent school building not opened until 1910. A bowling green, tennis courts and a golf course were opened by the 1920s.[7] The town once had 145 bathing boxes on the main beach. In 1946, the Torquay Surf Life Saving Club was formed, opening their current clubrooms in 1971 after the previous one burnt down.[8] Today, it is the oldest and largest club in Victoria.

Recent years have seen increased development of the area. With the 'old town' between the highway and the beach almost fully developed, housing spread to Jan Juc, west of Spring Creek, in the 1970s, and new estates opened up to the north of the town after the 1980s. There was conflict between long-term residents and those behind some developments, in particular over the former Torquay Primary School site on Bristol and Boston Roads, which was sold by the government for luxury apartments and an expanded shopping centre,[9] instead of being retained for community uses.[10] In 2001, The Sands golf club and residential development commenced construction to the north west of the town on the site of the former Torquay Tip, which closed in the early 1990s. The resort opened in 2004.[11]

The magazine History Matters produced by Torquay Museum Without Walls continues to document the history of Torquay.[12]

Climate edit

Torquay has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), with warm-summer Mediterranean climate tendencies (Köppen climate classification: Csb). Summers are warm, though just barely with cool nights. Winters consist of cool days with chilly nights.

Climate data for Torquay, Victoria
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 22.4
(72.3)
23.0
(73.4)
21.7
(71.1)
19.3
(66.7)
16.4
(61.5)
14.1
(57.4)
13.5
(56.3)
14.4
(57.9)
15.9
(60.6)
17.7
(63.9)
19.2
(66.6)
20.9
(69.6)
18.2
(64.8)
Average low °C (°F) 14.4
(57.9)
15.2
(59.4)
13.9
(57.0)
11.7
(53.1)
9.5
(49.1)
7.2
(45.0)
6.2
(43.2)
6.8
(44.2)
8.1
(46.6)
9.7
(49.5)
11.1
(52.0)
12.9
(55.2)
10.6
(51.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 41.3
(1.63)
43.4
(1.71)
40.5
(1.59)
50.0
(1.97)
76.8
(3.02)
55.0
(2.17)
59.1
(2.33)
71.6
(2.82)
68.2
(2.69)
65.0
(2.56)
49.9
(1.96)
40.5
(1.59)
661.3
(26.04)
Source: Travel Victoria

Attractions edit

 
Torquay surf beach
 
Aerial perspective of the Salty Dog Cafe at Torquay. March 2019.

The Torquay area is famous for its surf beaches, with Jan Juc and the world-famous Bells Beach located on the town's south-west outskirts. Other popular beaches are Point Impossible Beach and Southside Beach. It was home to the popular Offshore Festival in the late 1990s. Many of the world's most famous surf companies have their home in Torquay, including Rip Curl and Quiksilver- all of which make up part of the Surf Coast Plaza, which provides shopping and eating, as well as the Surf World Museum.

Torquay's population usually triples between January and end of February, when the school holidays end; the town also hosts end of year Schoolies week celebrations, joint with Lorne, Victoria's most active Schoolies destination.

The Australian National Surfing Museum is also located in Torquay.

Facilities edit

 
Aerial perspective of Torquay Bowls Club. March 2019

Torquay's local schools are Torquay P-6 College (formerly Torquay Primary School), St. Therese Catholic Primary School, Torquay Coast Primary School (formerly Torquay North Primary School) and Surf Coast Secondary College. Torquay Primary School was once located in the 'old town', being moved across from St. Therese in October 2001. The same year a review on the provision of Secondary Schooling in Torquay was commenced, and in 2003 it was recommended that Torquay Primary School become a P-9 school (Torquay College) doing so in 2009, in 2012 it reverted to a standalone primary school.[13][14] The secondary years split from Torquay College in 2012 to form Surf Coast Secondary College which moved to a standalone campus in Torquay North at the start of 2014.[15] In October 2007, The new Torquay Police Station opened at the corner of the Surfcoast highway and central avenue. The new Police station was built at a cost of $7.8 million and is considered to be a state-of-the-art facility.[16]

Areas of Torquay edit

Frog Hollow edit

Frog Hollow is in the north west of Torquay.

The estate has been developed on the site of a water catchment which has been drained.

Ocean Views edit

 
Aerial perspective of Fishermans' Beach at Torquay. March 2019.

Ocean Views is in the south of Torquay.

The area was developed from 2000 when the first homes were built. It was originally a sheep and cattle grazing and farming area, known as Hard Man's land because of its rocky and hilly landscape making it difficult to graze on.

It is now primarily residential, backing onto Spring Creek, where a proposed development with capacity for another 20,000 people was rejected in April 2009. It has a football oval and a golf club backing onto it.

The area has a V-line bus stop, the bus running to Warrnambool or to Geelong, three summer bus run stops, a post office box and a park, Spring Creek Play Park (locally known as Froggy Park). Walking access across the river to the football ground used to be difficult until in 2007 the shire built a footbridge connecting the reserve and the edge of the suburb, which is only around a 1.5 km radius. Ocean Views also have a BMX park.

The area is known for its high number of families.

Wombah Park edit

Wombah Park is in the north east of Torquay and is home to about 1000 residents.

The Church Estate edit

Once owned by the Catholic Church, The Church Estate is bounded by Spring Creek Reserve, Spring Creek and Torquay Road and was developed in the 1960s.

Zeally Bay edit

Zeally Bay is east of Torquay. The bay and Zeally Point were named after Richard Zeally, a squatter who lived in the area from 1851 on his property named South Beach. Zeally Bay hosts a yachting club, a fishing club, Fishermans Beach, Taylor Park - a public 4-acre (16,000 m2) park and the Crowne Plaza Torquay, a multimillion-dollar resort and plaza which was built on the site of the old Zeally Bay Caravan Park.[17] In 2004 the Zeally Bay caravan park had been sold by the owners due to increasing land tax costs, to a developer who said they would build a retirement village.[18]

Sport edit

Torquay is best known for the sport of surfing. Popular surf spots include Torquay Surf Beach, Draino's and Fisho's. The Torquay Boardriders Club represents Torquay surfers in local and national competitions.[19]

The town has an Australian Rules football team, the Torquay Tigers, competing in the Bellarine Football League[20] playing their home games at Spring Creek Reserve. There is also a Youth Football and Netball Club, Surf Coast Suns, based at the Banyul-Warri Fields sporting precinct, the club was formed in 2016.

There is a soccer team, Surf Coast FC, also playing at Banyul Warri sporting precinct, in the Victorian state league system. The club has submitted an expression of interest in joining the Victorian chapter of the new National Premier League, which will be one of the second-tier leagues in Australia.

Golfers play at the course of the Torquay Golf Club on Great Ocean Road,[21] or at The Sands on Sands Boulevard, an 18-hole championship course designed by Australian golfer Stuart Appleby.[22][23]

Popular culture edit

Bells Beach, near Torquay, is the setting for the final part of the 1991 film Point Break starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, although no filming actually took place there.[24]

The town was the primary setting for the 2013 film Blinder.

References edit

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Torquay (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 16 November 2017.  
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ABS2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Torquay - Victoria - Australia - Travel - theage.com.au". Melbourne: theage.com.au. 18 January 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  4. ^ "Place Names - Coast of Victoria". OnlyMelbourne. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  5. ^ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  6. ^ Shire of South Barwon - a brief history. Judy Laging. Accessed at the Geelong Heritage Centre
  7. ^ "Torquay, Bells Beach, Jan Juc History - Intown Geelong". intown.com.au. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  8. ^ . torquayslsc.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  9. ^ "Gated way to the coast - Property - Domain - theage.com.au". Melbourne: theage.com.au. 31 March 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  10. ^ "Torquay Primary School: former site". Victorian Parliamentary Hansard - Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  11. ^ "The Sands Torquay : Victoria Australia". thesandstorquay.com. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  12. ^ "Torquay Museum Without Walls | Unlock the Past". unlockthepast.com.au. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Torquay College". Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  14. ^ . torquayps.vic.edu.au. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  15. ^ "Surf Coast Secondary College". Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  16. ^ "Torquay Police station". premier.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
  17. ^ Total Travel. "Crowne Plaza". Retrieved 30 April 2009.
  18. ^ Martin Boulton (13 January 2004). "'For Sale' - writing is on the wall for beachside caravan parks". theage.com.au. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  19. ^ "Torquay Boardriders Club". Torquay Boardriders.
  20. ^ Full Points Footy. . Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  21. ^ Golf Select. "Torquay". Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  22. ^ Golf Select. "Torquay". Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  23. ^ Tourism Victoria. "Golf, Great Ocean Road". Visit Victoria. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  24. ^ "Point Break Filming Locations". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 30 December 2013.

External links edit

  • Torquay - Official government tourism organization
  • Torquay Surf Live Saving Club
  • Torquay,Jan Juc,Bells Beach Visitor Guide - JanJuc.com.au
  • Torquay Museum Without Walls

torquay, victoria, torquay, australia, redirects, here, town, queensland, torquay, queensland, town, tasmania, torquay, tasmania, torquay, ɔːr, seaside, resort, victoria, australia, which, faces, bass, strait, south, geelong, gateway, great, ocean, road, borde. Torquay Australia redirects here For the town in Queensland see Torquay Queensland For the town in Tasmania see Torquay Tasmania Torquay t ɔːr k iː tor KEY is a seaside resort in Victoria Australia which faces Bass Strait 21 km south of Geelong and is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road It is bordered on the west by Spring Creek and its coastal features include Point Danger and Zeally Bay At the 2021 census Torquay had a population of 18 534 2 Torquay VictoriaView from Point Danger looking towards the Torquay surf beachTorquayCoordinates38 20 0 S 144 19 0 E 38 33333 S 144 31667 E 38 33333 144 31667Population18 534 2021 census 1 Density0 540255 km2 1 39925 sq mi Established1871Postcode s 3228Elevation22 m 72 ft Area34 306 km2 13 245 6 sq mi Location97 km 60 mi SW of Melbourne21 km 13 mi S of Geelong18 km 11 mi NE of AngleseaLGA s Surf Coast ShireState electorate s PolwarthFederal division s CorangamiteLocalities around Torquay Freshwater Creek Mount Duneed ConnewarreBellbrae Torquay BreamleaJan Juc Bass Strait Bass Strait Contents 1 History 2 Climate 3 Attractions 4 Facilities 5 Areas of Torquay 5 1 Frog Hollow 5 2 Ocean Views 5 3 Wombah Park 5 4 The Church Estate 5 5 Zeally Bay 6 Sport 7 Popular culture 8 References 9 External linksHistory editTorquay is situated on Wadawurrung country which is part of the Kulin nation that surrounds Port Phillip Bay From the 1860s picnickers began to frequent the location which was originally known as Spring Creek after the watercourse along its south western edge 3 but it was named Puebla in the 1882 Victorian Municipal Directory James Follett who settled there in 1871 came from Torquay the seaside town in Devon England and at his suggestion the name Torquay was officially adopted in 1892 4 The Post Office opened on 20 August 1894 5 On 3 April 1908 the Spring Creek bridge was built connecting the town to Anglesea 6 In 1891 the Joseph H Scammell sailing ship struck the reef near Point Danger in Torquay and subsequently became wedged on the reef and as a result the ship broke up in the heavy seas 3 The cargo of the Scammell was washed onto the beach of Torquay and was looted The anchors of the Scammell are still on display at the Torquay front beach and the Torquay boat ramp nbsp Torquay Beach from the air In 1900 a primary school was opened in the newly built Presbyterian church moving to the recreation hall in 1901 a permanent school building not opened until 1910 A bowling green tennis courts and a golf course were opened by the 1920s 7 The town once had 145 bathing boxes on the main beach In 1946 the Torquay Surf Life Saving Club was formed opening their current clubrooms in 1971 after the previous one burnt down 8 Today it is the oldest and largest club in Victoria Recent years have seen increased development of the area With the old town between the highway and the beach almost fully developed housing spread to Jan Juc west of Spring Creek in the 1970s and new estates opened up to the north of the town after the 1980s There was conflict between long term residents and those behind some developments in particular over the former Torquay Primary School site on Bristol and Boston Roads which was sold by the government for luxury apartments and an expanded shopping centre 9 instead of being retained for community uses 10 In 2001 The Sands golf club and residential development commenced construction to the north west of the town on the site of the former Torquay Tip which closed in the early 1990s The resort opened in 2004 11 The magazine History Matters produced by Torquay Museum Without Walls continues to document the history of Torquay 12 Climate editTorquay has an oceanic climate Koppen climate classification Cfb with warm summer Mediterranean climate tendencies Koppen climate classification Csb Summers are warm though just barely with cool nights Winters consist of cool days with chilly nights Climate data for Torquay VictoriaMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearAverage high C F 22 4 72 3 23 0 73 4 21 7 71 1 19 3 66 7 16 4 61 5 14 1 57 4 13 5 56 3 14 4 57 9 15 9 60 6 17 7 63 9 19 2 66 6 20 9 69 6 18 2 64 8 Average low C F 14 4 57 9 15 2 59 4 13 9 57 0 11 7 53 1 9 5 49 1 7 2 45 0 6 2 43 2 6 8 44 2 8 1 46 6 9 7 49 5 11 1 52 0 12 9 55 2 10 6 51 0 Average precipitation mm inches 41 3 1 63 43 4 1 71 40 5 1 59 50 0 1 97 76 8 3 02 55 0 2 17 59 1 2 33 71 6 2 82 68 2 2 69 65 0 2 56 49 9 1 96 40 5 1 59 661 3 26 04 Source Travel VictoriaAttractions edit nbsp Torquay surf beach nbsp Aerial perspective of the Salty Dog Cafe at Torquay March 2019 The Torquay area is famous for its surf beaches with Jan Juc and the world famous Bells Beach located on the town s south west outskirts Other popular beaches are Point Impossible Beach and Southside Beach It was home to the popular Offshore Festival in the late 1990s Many of the world s most famous surf companies have their home in Torquay including Rip Curl and Quiksilver all of which make up part of the Surf Coast Plaza which provides shopping and eating as well as the Surf World Museum Torquay s population usually triples between January and end of February when the school holidays end the town also hosts end of year Schoolies week celebrations joint with Lorne Victoria s most active Schoolies destination The Australian National Surfing Museum is also located in Torquay Facilities edit nbsp Aerial perspective of Torquay Bowls Club March 2019Torquay s local schools are Torquay P 6 College formerly Torquay Primary School St Therese Catholic Primary School Torquay Coast Primary School formerly Torquay North Primary School and Surf Coast Secondary College Torquay Primary School was once located in the old town being moved across from St Therese in October 2001 The same year a review on the provision of Secondary Schooling in Torquay was commenced and in 2003 it was recommended that Torquay Primary School become a P 9 school Torquay College doing so in 2009 in 2012 it reverted to a standalone primary school 13 14 The secondary years split from Torquay College in 2012 to form Surf Coast Secondary College which moved to a standalone campus in Torquay North at the start of 2014 15 In October 2007 The new Torquay Police Station opened at the corner of the Surfcoast highway and central avenue The new Police station was built at a cost of 7 8 million and is considered to be a state of the art facility 16 Areas of Torquay editFrog Hollow edit Frog Hollow is in the north west of Torquay The estate has been developed on the site of a water catchment which has been drained Ocean Views edit nbsp Aerial perspective of Fishermans Beach at Torquay March 2019 Ocean Views is in the south of Torquay The area was developed from 2000 when the first homes were built It was originally a sheep and cattle grazing and farming area known as Hard Man s land because of its rocky and hilly landscape making it difficult to graze on It is now primarily residential backing onto Spring Creek where a proposed development with capacity for another 20 000 people was rejected in April 2009 It has a football oval and a golf club backing onto it The area has a V line bus stop the bus running to Warrnambool or to Geelong three summer bus run stops a post office box and a park Spring Creek Play Park locally known as Froggy Park Walking access across the river to the football ground used to be difficult until in 2007 the shire built a footbridge connecting the reserve and the edge of the suburb which is only around a 1 5 km radius Ocean Views also have a BMX park The area is known for its high number of families Wombah Park edit Wombah Park is in the north east of Torquay and is home to about 1000 residents The Church Estate edit Once owned by the Catholic Church The Church Estate is bounded by Spring Creek Reserve Spring Creek and Torquay Road and was developed in the 1960s Zeally Bay edit Zeally Bay is east of Torquay The bay and Zeally Point were named after Richard Zeally a squatter who lived in the area from 1851 on his property named South Beach Zeally Bay hosts a yachting club a fishing club Fishermans Beach Taylor Park a public 4 acre 16 000 m2 park and the Crowne Plaza Torquay a multimillion dollar resort and plaza which was built on the site of the old Zeally Bay Caravan Park 17 In 2004 the Zeally Bay caravan park had been sold by the owners due to increasing land tax costs to a developer who said they would build a retirement village 18 Sport editTorquay is best known for the sport of surfing Popular surf spots include Torquay Surf Beach Draino s and Fisho s The Torquay Boardriders Club represents Torquay surfers in local and national competitions 19 The town has an Australian Rules football team the Torquay Tigers competing in the Bellarine Football League 20 playing their home games at Spring Creek Reserve There is also a Youth Football and Netball Club Surf Coast Suns based at the Banyul Warri Fields sporting precinct the club was formed in 2016 There is a soccer team Surf Coast FC also playing at Banyul Warri sporting precinct in the Victorian state league system The club has submitted an expression of interest in joining the Victorian chapter of the new National Premier League which will be one of the second tier leagues in Australia Golfers play at the course of the Torquay Golf Club on Great Ocean Road 21 or at The Sands on Sands Boulevard an 18 hole championship course designed by Australian golfer Stuart Appleby 22 23 Popular culture editBells Beach near Torquay is the setting for the final part of the 1991 film Point Break starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves although no filming actually took place there 24 The town was the primary setting for the 2013 film Blinder References edit Australian Bureau of Statistics 27 June 2017 Torquay State Suburb 2016 Census QuickStats Retrieved 16 November 2017 nbsp Cite error The named reference ABS2021 was invoked but never defined see the help page a b Torquay Victoria Australia Travel theage com au Melbourne theage com au 18 January 2008 Retrieved 30 April 2008 Place Names Coast of Victoria OnlyMelbourne Retrieved 30 December 2013 Premier Postal History Post Office List Retrieved 11 April 2008 Shire of South Barwon a brief history Judy Laging Accessed at the Geelong Heritage Centre Torquay Bells Beach Jan Juc History Intown Geelong intown com au Retrieved 30 April 2008 Torquay SLSC torquayslsc com au Archived from the original on 6 March 2008 Retrieved 30 April 2008 Gated way to the coast Property Domain theage com au Melbourne theage com au 31 March 2007 Retrieved 30 April 2008 Torquay Primary School former site Victorian Parliamentary Hansard Parliament of Victoria Retrieved 30 April 2008 The Sands Torquay Victoria Australia thesandstorquay com Retrieved 30 April 2008 Torquay Museum Without Walls Unlock the Past unlockthepast com au Retrieved 27 February 2018 Torquay College Retrieved 29 September 2016 Torquay primary school torquayps vic edu au Archived from the original on 9 September 2007 Retrieved 30 April 2008 Surf Coast Secondary College Retrieved 29 September 2016 Torquay Police station premier vic gov au Retrieved 15 July 2008 Total Travel Crowne Plaza Retrieved 30 April 2009 Martin Boulton 13 January 2004 For Sale writing is on the wall for beachside caravan parks theage com au Retrieved 30 April 2008 Torquay Boardriders Club Torquay Boardriders Full Points Footy Torquay Archived from the original on 16 May 2008 Retrieved 25 July 2008 Golf Select Torquay Retrieved 11 May 2009 Golf Select Torquay Retrieved 11 May 2009 Tourism Victoria Golf Great Ocean Road Visit Victoria Retrieved 21 July 2011 Point Break Filming Locations Internet Movie Database Retrieved 30 December 2013 External links edit nbsp Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Torquay Victoria nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Torquay Victoria Torquay Official government tourism organization Torquay Surf Live Saving Club Torquay Jan Juc Bells Beach Visitor Guide JanJuc com au Torquay Museum Without Walls Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Torquay Victoria amp oldid 1153615807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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