Seaside village renowned for its rock and beach fishing. Set in the natural gorge of Campbells Creek, the settlement has one of the few sheltered moorings along this section of the coast.
Location: 257 km from Melbourne on Great Ocean Road. Map
Origin of name: recalls Capt. Alexander Campbell, who traded with settlers in the area from his schooner, Condor, which he used to anchor here.
Brief history: the coast was originally so inhospitable that when Gov. Charles Joseph La Trobe travelled its length in 1845-46 he observed: 'I think a boat might possibly land at Port Campbell in most weathers; but with this exception, I do not know a single spot on the whole coast from Hopkins to Cape Otway where a landing could be effected with any chance of certainty.' It wasn't until 1875 that the town site was surveyed; the first land sales in the area didn't occur until 1878. The survey of the town site was due, in part, to the establishment of a beacon on the headland in 1874. By 1880 a proper pier had been built proximate to the present jetty. By the 1890s the coast was opening up to tourism. It still drives the town, along with fishing and the crayfish industry.
Natural features: Southern Ocean; Bass Strait; Port Campbell National Park, centred on the rugged Shipwreck Coast, its features include Gibsons Steps; Loch Ard Gorge, The Twelve Apostles, Bay of Islands Coastal Park, London Arch (formerly London Bridge), the Grotto, The Bay of Martyrs, Massacre Bay; Twelve Apostles Marine National Park; The Arches Marine Sanctuary
Built features: Loch Ard Shipwreck Museum
Heritage features: Massacre Bay is the site of an Aboriginal massacre