The Great Ocean Road Bronze Plaques
The making of the Great Ocean Road is a story of resolve and conquest over adversity, and a triumph of great Aussie spirit and mateship.
BUILDING THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD
A MEMORIAL OF BLOOD, SWEAT AND ANGUISH... Returned soldiers built the road, constructed as a permanent memorial to those who died while fighting in the First World War. It was a huge engineering feat with blood, sweat and anguish, resulting in faster access for vehicles via a coastal route from Barwon Heads via Lorne to Warrnambool. The ocean provided the first connections with coastal settlements that mostly sprang up for commercial reasons. Some early settlers hunted whales and seals while others harvested the huge trees of the Otways.LINKING SETTLEMENTS
Inland routes were developed but they were slow and arduous. A railway was established in the 1870s linking Geelong and Winchelsea, with a coach connection to Lorne. Plans for an ocean road emerged in the 1880’s but were shelved because of cost and defence reasons.
New impetus for an ocean road came towards the end of the First World War. The chairman of the Country Roads Board, Mr W Calder, contacted the State War Council with a proposal that funds be provided for repatriation and re-employment of returned soldiers on roads in sparsely populated areas. This was after the war council had pressed him to employ returned soldiers.
PLAN FOR A ROAD
Calder soon submitted a plan he described as the ‘South Coast Road (Western District)’. It suggested a road starting at Barwon Heads, following the coast west around Cape Otway and ending near Warrnambool. The plan was published in December 1917 and the Geelong mayor, Alderman Howard Hitchcock, said he would organise a scheme for its construction. The road would be built by returned soldiers as a memorial to all those who were killed in the Great War. By May 1918 the Great Ocean Road Trust had been formed. It decided the first stage would be built from Lorne to Cape Patton, a distance of 28.9km (18 miles).
AN EXPLOSIVE START
Survey work began in August 1918 but the difficulty of the terrain and bad weather hampered progress. It was completed just over 13 months later, with 57.6km (36 miles) of road from Cape Patton to Eastern View pegged out. Construction work, using thousands of returned servicemen, officially began on September 19 1919, when the Premier of Victoria, Mr Lawson, detonated an explosive charge near Lorne.
MANUAL ENTHUSIASM
Initially a lack of funds delayed progress on the road but government helped renew enthusiasm for the project and the first stage linking Lorne and Eastern View was completed in early 1922. Over the next decade, the trust continued its work on the Great Ocean Road with Cape Patton and Anglesea, while the Country Roads Board built the Cape Patton to Apollo Bay link. It was tough work with no heavy machinery to help - only picks, shovels and horse-drawn carts.
AND FINALLY, A ROAD
On November 26 1932, the route was officially opened by the Lieutenant Governor, Sir William Irvine. It was a sight to see with a procession of 40 cars and schoolchildren lining parts of the route. At Apollo Bay, there were sports on the foreshore, and the Colac band travelled to Wye River to play during the afternoon. Road travellers during the early years paid a toll at gates at Eastern View, where a memorial arch was erected. Drivers paid two shillings and sixpence (25 cents AUD) and passengers one shilling and sixpence (15 cents AUD). The toll was abolished when the Trust handed the road over to the State Government on October 2 1936.HISTORIC MARKERS
In 2007, as part of the Great Ocean Road’s 75th anniversary celebrations, a series of commemorative bronze plaques and a statue at the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch were unveiled. The aim of these is to bring alive for travellers the stories of the people who lived and worked in the region. Hand sculptured by Dr Ross Bastiaan, and weighing 85 kilograms, each of the thirteen plaques feature information on the broad history of the road, a central detailed relief map of the area and information specific to the site they occupy.THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD
On 26 November 2007 the Great Ocean Road turned 75. It was a time to remember the road’s wonderful past and to celebrate its present - and its future - as one of the greatest journeys on the planet.The 3000 brave men who between 1918 and 1932 built the road, often using little more than a pick and shovel, would today be immensely proud of how their creation has not only weathered the years, but blossomed into a destination dubbed by the English travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, as one of the Top 20 journeys of a lifetime.
Across the Atlantic, Frommer’s, the American travel Bible, put the Great Ocean Road in its top 10 road trips in the world. As well as being an iconic tourist destination, the Great Ocean Road plays a deeper, more spiritual role. It is also the world’s biggest war memorial. The men who decades ago etched it into the coastline of south western Victoria, themselves returned soldiers, were building it in honour of their comrades killed in the First World War.
THE DIGGERS, GREAT OCEAN ROAD MEMORIAL ARCH
In April 2007, a special ceremony was held at Eastern View to unveil “The Diggers”.
With one of the workers handing the other a drink, this work reflects the great Australian mateship that was not only a part of the building of the road, but which was so often on display in the First World War itself.
Set on a plinth of rock especially brought in from Port Fairy, “The Diggers” overlooks the Southern Ocean and the road. The landscaped car park and boardwalks are a safe place to create the perfect photo record of a visit to the Great Ocean Road, with the Memorial Arch in the background.
GREAT OCEAN ROAD BRONZE PLAQUES
TORQUAY Location: Highway Reserve beside the roundabout where the Surf Coast Highway meets the Great Ocean Road, Torquay.
Located at Spring Creek, the officially gazetted start of the Great Ocean Road. From humble colonial beginnings, Torquay has grown into a fine, year round seaside holiday resort and the capital of the surfing industry in Australia.
ANGLESEA
Location: On the banks of the Anglesea River in the heart of Anglesea.
The plaque is located on the banks of the Anglesea River in the heart of the town. Anglesea takes pride in being the place where the Great Ocean Road first comes into contact with the Southern Ocean.
URQUHART BLUFF
Location: Urquhart Bluff roadside lookout and stopping area, Great Ocean Road.
The view back towards Anglesea is breathtaking. The plaque here tells the story of the early exploration of the region, and also the early problems encountered with road building prior to 1920.
MEMORIAL ARCH
Location: Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch precinct, Eastern View.
The plaque is part of a major Great Ocean Road feature that includes the wooden arch and also the new life-sized sculpture by Julie Squires, entitled “The Diggers”. This is a must stop location for any traveller along the road. The plaque tells the story of the impact of World War I on the people of the region, and why the road became a memorial to those who did not return from that cataclysmic conflict.
DEVILS ELBOW
Location: Roadside stopping area at Devils Elbow, west of the Memorial Arch.
This is the place to really begin to understand the difficulties of chipping the road out of the solid rock of the cliff face. There was no heavy machinery to break the rock and to carry it away. That was done with the combination of manual labour and packhorses.
CINEMA POINT
Location: Cinema Point roadside lookout, Great Ocean Road.
Overlooking a picturesque valley and a particularly windy section of the Road, the text on this plaque explains the name origins of Cinema Point and the challenges in terms of labour, funding and travelling on this part of the Road.
BIG HILL
Location: Large roadside car park on the western side of Big Hill.
On the western side of Big Hill in a large car park and with a spectacular view towards Lorne, the text on this plaque outlines the maritime history of the area: the role of the coastal ships in keeping the residents supplied with essentials and tales of the shipwrecks.
LORNE
Location: Incorporated into the landscape at the Lorne Visitor Centre.
The plaque in beautiful Lorne is incorporated into the Lorne Visitor Centre landscape. The town has long held a central place in the story of the Great Ocean Road, something as vital now as in 1917, when the first charge was detonated to signal the beginning of construction.
CUMBERLAND RIVER
Location: Roadside car park near Cumberland River, west of Lorne.
Pull into the car park to visit plaque number nine in the series. Learn about the rugged but generally happy life of the returned soldiers building the Great Ocean Road, and the massive repair work to the [remainder of sentence is cut off in the uploaded image].
WYE RIVER
Location: At the main entrance to Wye River beach.
Located right at the main entrance to the beach, this plaque illustrates the importance of Wye River to the construction of the road, as well as its contribution to the timber industry in the Otways.
CAPE PATTON
Location: Cape Patton roadside lookout.
Carefully cut into the wall at Cape Patton to preserve the magnificent views at this picturesque lookout, the plaque tells the story of the maritime disasters along this section of the road and explains the difficulties experienced in constructing this section of the road.
APOLLO BAY
Location: At the main entrance to the Apollo Bay Visitor Information Centre.
Found at the main entrance of the Apollo Bay Visitor Information Centre, this plaque tells the story of Apollo Bay, starting with its whaling and timber heritage, through its agricultural and maritime years to the present.
LAVERS HILL
Location: At the highest point of the Great Ocean Road, next to the ‘Drift’ sculpture at Lavers Hill.
Located at the highest point of the Great Ocean Road, the plaque, located next to the ‘Drift’ sculpture, commemorates Lavers Hill’s timber heritage and the agricultural significance of the region.
