Cottages of Port Fairy, Victoria.

Last post on Port Fairy in 2015.
The cottages of Port Fairy are well looked after, just like the town itself.  Clean and tidy.
These cottages were built many years ago, some now have been renovated for personal use, done to today's standards.  Some cottages are used as Accommodations houses.
I have chosen just a few to show you.

Water/Sea of Port Fairy, Victoria.

Water/Sea of Port Fairy. 
The Southern Ocean and a water surfer.  To his left there were many rocks in the sea.

Griffiths Island where the mutton birds are.  The Island lies at the mouth of the Moyne River.

Griffiths now has no permanent inhabitants, but is connected to the mainland by a causeway and is accessible on foot. It forms part of the Port Fairy and Belfast Coastline Protection Reserve and, as well as being a tourist attraction, is an important site in the context of the history of European settlement of western Victoria.

There are 80 - 90 species of birds on the Island.

Moyne River

Buildings in Port Fairy, Victoria.

Back to the holiday photos of 2015.

Few buildings in Port Fairy, Victoria.

The above building built 1848 was a Hotel and still is.  Was the Stagg Hotel, now Seacombe House.

Back in 1873 it became a school, then a quest house.

Lovely wide footpath, part of the shopping area.

A Hotel

'Emoh'.  The earliest part of this building was erected for William Rutledge, the merchant known as the 'King of Port Fairy'. However his business crashed and the house was sold.
These days as the advertisement says - Two Bedroom self contained apartments for rent.

 Built 1865. This building was the Post Office, then the council chambers, now a Restaurant.

Port Fairy, Caravan Park.

The council Caravan Park at Port Fairy was the one which we stayed at.  Due to lack of tourist for the winter part of the park was closed.  This park is on the banks by the Moyne River in Victoria.

Port Fairy is a coastal town in south-western Victoria, Australia. It lies on the Princes Highway in the Shire of Moyne, 28 klm (17 mi) west of Warrnambool and 290 klm (180 mi) west of Melbourne, at the point where the Moyne River enters the Southern Ocean.

Dead tree in the park.  Carvings below, unfortunately not shown too well.

You can see the power boxes plus the ones near the trees.  We parked ourselves in the clearing to get the warmth of the sun.

Well there are a few people camping.  A good place for summer to help keep cool.

Port Fairy on the left of the map, Melbourne on the right, so you can see back in 2015 we are not too far away from the ferry to come home.  That was September.

Port Fairy, Victoria

Port Fairy has a rich history and 50 buildings are protected by the National Trust of Australia. Griffiths Island nearby holds a breeding colony of the short-tailed shearwater or Australian muttonbirds.

In the early 19th century whalers and seal hunters used the coast in this region. The bay was named by the crew of the whaler The Fairy in 1828^.
John Griffiths established a whaling station in 1835 and a store was opened in 1839. In 1843, James Atkinson, a Sydney 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" after his hometown in Ireland. The post office opened on 1 July 1843 (the post office actually opened in 1837 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 the mid-to-late 19th century, Belfast was one of Australia's largest ports, catering to the whaling industry. In 1887 the town was renamed Port Fairy as a result of an Act of Parliament.
 

 

East Beach, Port Fairy, Victoria.

 

The Church of England.

Note 'Belfast' name on Souvenir Shop and no one about again!

Port Fairy on the left of the map, Melbourne on the right.