Find out more about Torquay's past
This exhibition explores how the recent past connects to our heritage traditions, helping us understand who we are today. From food to politics, music to the ways we communicate, all tell stories of our collective journey.
For History Month 2025, we are celebrating the theme, “Victoria’s living history 1950-2000” through the lens of Torquay history, in our everyday experiences, cultural practices, and the memories we continue to create.
1950s
Stretton Park Sales
In April 1952 the White family subdivided and sold their extensive landholding. Major allotments along the Torquay road were sold to Joe Briody (History Matters June 2021), the McCann family (History Matters June 2022) and John Spittle (History Matters December 2024).
John Spittle sold a parcel of his land to the Catholic Church in 1956. He then subdivided this area a bit more, offering a 25-year lease to develop a Service Station & Caravan Park, followed by the sale of 53 acres to Weymouth P/L, who went on to develop the Church Estate.
POSTAL DELIVERY
For sixty years, residents had their mail delivered to a location where they would pick it up. The evolution of Torquay postal services began with James Follett’s saddlebag service to his Palace Hotel. A few years later, a post office was built on Gilbert Street, before the new post office and residence were centrally located on Pearl Street, at the top of Gilbert Street.
In 1953, houses were numbered and postal delivery began.
More on our postal delivery here. Or read the article in our HISTORY MATTERS magazine, September 2019
TORQUAY TIGERS FOOTBALL CLUB
The Torquay Football Club was reformed in 1951 by George McCartney, with the first under-15s team playing in yellow windcheaters featuring a Superman motif on the front.
Read more here.
OLYMPICS CAME TO TORQUAY
As part of the Melbourne Olympics, an International Surf Carnival was staged at Torquay Surf Beach in early December 1956. Local lifesavers were joined by visitors from California, Hawaii, Ceylon, South Africa, and New Zealand for demonstration events.
Special trains departed from Flinders Street, and entry to the carnival cost 5/-. There was high excitement as the famed Duke Kahanamoku had arrived in Melbourne for the Opening ceremony.
The lifesavers demonstrated their rescue methods, and there were boat races, but the real showstopper was provided by a group of American lifeguards who actually stood up on their boards. One evening, as the events were winding down, American Greg Noll is said to have paddled out to the point with a group of his mates on their shorter, lighter boards. People came rushing back to the beach saying “the yanks are surfing, you oughta see the yanks”…..Surfing had reached Australia.
Those yanks left most of their equipment for the locals when the carnival was over….and the rest is local surfing history.
We have more stories in our posts for you here and in our HISTORY MATTERS magazine
Torquay Beach Beauty
Beach beauty competitions reached their peak popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. Girls and women of all ages were photographed on the beach, which was published in the paper, or they paraded across the stage in their bathing suits, vying for local titles to head to State and National titles. They were part of a summer festival to promote the daily newspapers and raise money for the local surfing clubs that hosted the event. More information in HISTORY MATTERS magazine 2017 December.
1960s
THE LAST BATHING BOX
After the Second World War, a combination of factors led to a decline and eventual removal of the Torquay bathing boxes. The Torquay Public Reserves Trustees, who managed the foreshore, were responsible for ensuring the beach was once again inviting for residents and visitors to enjoy. Trenches, barbed wire, and the Point Danger bunker were removed, with the evaluation and planning of the bathing boxes being a high priority.
During the war period there was restricted access to the beach; consequently, many of the bathing boxes became neglected. After the war visitors again started to flock to Torquay so with better change room facilities, there was really no longer a need for bathing boxes. The last locals to own a bathing box were – Mrs. Carey,
A. Ross, John Spittle, Mrs Larcombe, Bryan Hyland, L. A. Hancock. Their boxes were removed in 1958, leaving only visitors owning the remaining 14 boxes. During 1960 the
Reserve Trustees wrote to the final seven owners stating that their leases would not be renewed for 1961 because of foreshore beautification projects. The redevelopment of the foreshore provided more space for those visiting the front beach.
Read more about our bathing boxes here. or in our HISTORY MATTERS MAGAZINE December 2017
Surfing Industry
Fred Pyke
TORQUAY surf industry pioneer Fred Pyke was one of the most influential figures of his time and inspired the next generation of surfboard shapers in Torquay. A champion road and track cyclist who was nearly selected for the 1960 Rome Olympics, Fred started shaping surfboards in 1962, set up business in Brunswick in 1964 and moved to Torquay in late 1966. He was a cabinetmaker by trade and became famous for manufacturing long boards with clean lines, known for his perfectionist attitude towards shaping. He taught the craft to the who’s who of Torquay surfing during the 1960s and 1970s, including Rip Curl co-founder Doug’ Claw’ Warbrick, Ray Wilson, Alan Atkins, Jeff “Bear” Spence, Dennis “Strapper” Day (who later started the Strapper surf brand), Don Allcroft, Graeme “Willey” Muncey, Maurice Cole and Pat Morgan. He bought the US licence in the 1970s to make and sell Dive and Surf wetsuits in Australia with Rod Brooks – the business later changed its name to Piping Hot – and retired from the surfing industry in the early 1980s after he left an enormous mark on the Torquay surfing industry. Read more about Fred here
Rip Curl Begginings
A garage on The Great Ocean Road was the beginning of an epic journey for surfing friends Doug “Claw” Warbrick and Brian Singer. They started making surfboards there before shifting to the Old Torquay Bakery in Boston Road, lifting their production to 12 boards a week. It was the beginning of the Rip Curl empire. Read more about Torquay and surfing here.
1970s
Torquay Cavalcade
In 1973, the Smith family captured the Monster Procession during the four–day Torquay Cavalcade. Winter & Taylor sponsored this wonderful event, which popular TV personality Brian Naylor officially opened. There were stalls and displays across town. Polly Farmer and other Geelong players were a popular attraction at the McCartney Oval, coaching young boys in long kicking. Awards were made for the neatest garden, as well as drawing and essay prizes for the school kids. The event even stretched to Bellbrae, with a float and an old-time dance event at the Bellbrae Hall.
It added excitement by integrating the Melbourne Offshore International World Championship service into the course, which ran Melbourne-Torquay-Cowes-Melbourne.
Celebrations including the Crowning of Cavalcade 73 Princess at the Torquay Hall. Can anyone remember who won?
Torquay Community Health Centre
During the latter part of 1973 Torquay was without any medical services. Summer was approaching, and the need became urgent to avoid putting a strain on Geelong Hospital. Therefore, an ad hoc committee was formed to establish a casualty service for the 1973-74 summer holiday period. Sister Joan Williams approached the Pre-School Committee to use the spare spaces at their facility. Once summer was over an Interim Committee was established to develop a more permanent facility. A grant was received to purchase land in mid-1974 and a public meeting endorsed the establishment of the Torquay Community Health Centre.
In September of that year, a Bell Street restaurant was put on the market, and with another grant, the committee purchased the property. Alterations were immediately undertaken, with Dr Darryl Jones and Sister Williams occupying the new building and commencing practice on 21 December 1974.
Read 2025 March edition of HISTORY MATTERS magazine for the full story. Available at Torquay Newsagents.
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Pub Fire
On 1 January, 1891, the Pioneer Coffee Palace at Torquay drastically changed the nature of its business when it began dispensing beer.
It became the Torquay Hotel and served its patrons well. It even survived the bushfires of 1940, but it was a fire of another sort that saw the end of the building early on Sunday, 4 July 1976.
Torquay Speedway
The final meeting at the Torquay Speedway in 1974 featured a 50-lap saloon car derby for the men.
The Geelong Hot Rod Club, formerly known as the TQ Speedcar Club of Geelong, was operated by the Drew Brothers, who sought permission to host race meetings at Torquay from 1962. The Torquay Speedway was designed as a quarter-mile dirt oval track to accommodate stock cars and hot rods. Together, the Geelong Hot Rod Club and the Torquay Football Club built the rough track.
The growth of housing in the Torquay Church Estate, surrounding the Spring Creek Reserve, led to increased complaints from the community.
Read the full story and more photos in the 2025 September edition of HISTORY MATTERS available at Torquay Newsagents.
1980s
Rip Curl on the move
During the seventies, times were good for the growing company and with surfing as the catalyst Rip Curl progressed and they eventually moved out of the Old Bakery in 1976 into a new facility up the Geelong Road (which is currently the medical centre), with Quiksilver opening next door soon after.
In 1980 the move was made across the road to the current Rip Curl HQ at 101 Surfcoast Highway, Torquay.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday’s inferno torched 41,000 hectares across the Otways region, burning from Deans Marsh to Lorne on the wings of a ferocious northerly wind and then up the coast to Anglesea under the influence of an aggressive south-westerly change. It claimed three lives, 729 homes, 53 other buildings, many livestock and many kilometres of fencing. For more information view our exhibition and our 2022 December HISTORY MATTERS magazine |
1990s
Birth of the Surf Coast Shire
Surf Coast Shire came into being through an Order-in-Council on 9 March 1994, amalgamating most of Winchelsea and Barrabool Councils along with parts of the recently formed City of Greater Geelong. The first year of governance was in the hands of a local government commissioner and the Shire returned to a democratically elected Council on 25 March 1995. Read more in History Matter Ed 19, Sept 2020
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Round The Twist
Filming for the third series of the internationally acclaimed and universally appealing comedy drama series Round The Twist began filming on our picturesque surf coast and in Aireys Inlet. Round The Twist 3 continued the hilarious adventures of the Twist family: Pete, Linda, Bronson, and Dad, who live in a lighthouse in the small seaside town of Port Neranda. |
Golden Arches Arrive
A mammoth McBattle over the Big Mac golden arches ended when the developers were given the go-ahead by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to build a McDonald’s in Torquay.
Despite strong community opposition to the plan, VCAT upheld that the land was appropriately zoned for the development.
The battle had united business, environmental, surfing and community groups in Torquay.
While the tribunal approved the development, it adopted a number of conditions established by the Surf Coast Shire when it approved the plan.
The conditions included smaller signage, shorter operating hours, litter traps to protect waterways, recycling bins, extra landscaping and regular litter patrols.
Highway Opens
After almost three years of work the Surfcoast Highway was officially opened on 17 June, 1993 by the Minister for Roads and Ports, Bill Baxter. The opening was held at the corner of South Beach Road and the Surfcoast Highway. The 13.2km stretch of road between Grovedale and Torquay cost $13.3 million to duplicate from two to four lanes. Back in 1889, the Torquay Improvement Association allocated five pounds, five shillings to be spent on the main road to Torquay.
Surfcoast Highway road duplication