The second oldest town in Victoria, Port Fairy is located at the mouth of the Moyne River. It is the home port for as large fishing fleet.
Location: 290km west of Melbourne; 30 km west of Warrnambool. Map
Origin of name: recalls the cutter Fairy, which Capt. J Wishart took across the bar in April 1810 to escape a wild storm. In 1843 a Sydney solicitor James Atkinson purchased 5120 acres of land cheaply, drained the swamps around the town, subdividing and selling/leasing the land and building the harbour. So proud was Atkinson of his handiwork that he decided to rename the town Belfast, after the Irish city which he called home. It wasn't until 1887 that the town was renamed Port Fairy, this was as a result of a special act of parliament.
Brief history: began life as a whaling station at the mouth of the Moyne River in 1835. Two sealers, John and Charles Mills, built simple huts on Griffiths Island which stands at the mouth of the Moyne River. As the seals in the area were killed off the Mills brothers moved over to whaling and they were active in the area until whaling ceased in 1843. The whalers built the distinctive bluestone cottages which are still dotted throughout the town. The town became a centre for onion and potato production, and was fortified in responses to what was seen as a threat of invasion by the Russians in the 1860s; three cannons memorialise this at Battery Point.
Natural features: Southern Ocean; Bass Strait; Griffiths Island (connected to the mainland by a causeway); Moyne River; Lady Julia Percy Island
Heritage features: Griffith Island Lighthouse (1859); Battery Hill fort and signal station; Capt John Mills' cottage (1840s); 'Woodbine' farmhouse (1845-46); former Customs House (1860-61); St John's Church of England (1853-57); former Merrijig Inn (1840s); ANZ Bank (1857); 'Seacombe House' (1847); 'Emoh' (c.1847); Court House (1859); Methodist Church (1855); Caledonion Hotel; 'Seaview'; Office of Port Fairy Gazette (1849); Star of The West Hotel (1856); Mott's Cottage; Post Office; Powder Magazine (1860); 'Girteen' (1855); St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church (1857 onwards); 'Talara' (c.1855); former St Andrew's Presbyterian Church (1854); Griffiths Island Lighthouse; Armstrong Bay Aboriginal midden; The Craigs area Aboriginal midden.
