Bells Beach
One of Australia's most famous surfing
beaches
Bells Beach, famous for its world-renowned
Easter Surfing Classic, is located near
Torquay on the southern coast of Victoria,
71 km south-west of Melbourne.
The beach is named after the family that took
up the first pastoral run hereabouts in the
1840s. It is claimed the surfing potential of
the site was first recognised in 1949 by Vic
Tantau, Peter Troy and Owen Yateman. Access was
a considerable problem. An old road led to
within 45 minutes walk of the beach, but the
heavy 5-metre boards then in fashion proved too
difficult to drag through the bush,
necessitating rubber mats. However, when shorter
boards went into production in 1957 the beach
was more heavily frequented. Negotiations with a
local landowner in 1958 enabled road access to
the beach although the failure of visitors to
close farm gates caused friction and rendered
the route problematic. Eventually Torquay surfer
and Olympic wrestler Joe Sweeney hired a
bulldozer and cleared a road along the Bells
cliff from the old Cobb & Co road, from where
the concrete wave now stands down to the beach,
thereby facilitating access from Jan Juc. He
then charged one pound per surfer to recover his
expenses. This is now part of the Torquay to
Anglesea walking track.
The first surfing contest was organised by
Vic Tantau and Peter Troy and held on the
Australia Day weekend in January 1962. The
competition was subsequently changed to Easter
in 1963, thereby opening it up to interstate
competition. This makes it the longest-running
professional surfing event in Australia and the
world and one of Victoria's six "Hallmark
International Sporting Events". The consistency
and excellence of the surf saw Bells become the
site of the world amateur board-riding
championships in 1970 and, in the early 1970s,
the first surfing reserve in the world. It has
since become a fixture on the world professional
circuit. In the year 2000 it was listed as a
site of historical significance by the Victorian
branch of the National Trust.
Things to see:
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Surfing
Bells Beach is essentially rather small bay
situated between two equally unremarkable
headlands. It is the swells from the Southern
Ocean, which slow down and steepen over the
reef-strewn shallows, that foment the
outstanding surf. The consistency for which the
beach is also famed arises, in part, from the
fact that the bottom is not especially sandy and
hence is not prone to shifting sand bars which
would create great variability. Combined with
spring tides and a strong nor'westerly the waves
can rise to five metres, although three to four
is the average.
To the north-east of Bells are sheer cliffs,
below which are beaches known to local surfers
as 'Winkipop', 'Boobs' and 'Steps'. To the
south-west is an 'optional dress beach'.
Easter Festival
Most famously, this is the site of a surfing
contest which was first held in 1962, although
the competition attained a more official status
when it became an interstate Easter event in
1963, making it the longest-running professional
surfing event in the nation and the world. The
consistency and excellence of the surf saw Bells
become the site of the world amateur
board-riding championships in 1970 and, in the
early 1970s, the first surfing reserve in the
world. It has since become a fixture on the
world professional circuit. In the year 2000 it
was listed as a site of historical significance
by the Victorian branch of the National Trust.
The men's contest is now known as the Ripcurl
Pro and the women's event has an uncertain
present and future. Although prize-money was,
for many years, rather low by world standards,
this changed in the 1990s when the importance of
the event, and the beach which engendered it,
was recognised by an Act of Parliament that
declared the site a recreation reserve.
The festival now runs for ten days around
Easter. Interested parties can make inquiries
from, and buy either day tickets or ten-day
passes, Surfing Victoria, tel: (03) 5261 2907.
There is no on-site accommodation but there are
caravan parks and other holiday accommodation in
Torquay and the surrounding area.
Cycling
Bicycling is popular in this area and
Tandemonium offer cycle hire around Torquay and
Bells Beach and along the Great Ocean Road. They
provide transport to the start of a chosen ride
and operate a pick-up sevice at the end, tel:
(0409) 803 200.
