Port Fairy | Towns of the south-west - December 1, 2023 - The Standard - video Dailymotion

WATCH: How Port Fairy put its name on the map.

Transcript

00:00 For a seaside village of just 3,500 people, Port Ferry has a national and international

00:05 profile that few communities can match.

00:08 The town achieved global recognition in 2012, when it was voted as the world's most liveable

00:13 city with a population under 20,000.

00:17 This accolade was followed by back-to-back wins at the Victorian Top Tourism Town Awards

00:22 in 2021 and 2022.

00:24 But in the years before Port Ferry became famous for its boutique stores and cafe culture,

00:30 it was instead the home of whalers and seal hunters.

00:33 The town was known as Belfast after Northern Ireland's capital, up until an 1887 Act

00:38 of Parliament saw it renamed.

00:41 During this period, the village quickly grew around its whaling industry, becoming one

00:45 of Australia's largest ports at the time.

00:47 Fishing remains one of Port Ferry's core industries, and much of the town's historical

00:52 architecture still stands today.

00:55 Since 1977, the Port Ferry Folk Festival has attracted audiences from near and far to see

01:01 a wide variety of artists.

01:03 8,000 people attend the event each year, with the likes of Sinead O'Connor, Steve Earle,

01:09 John Butler and Mary Black headlining the folky in previous years.

01:13 Port Ferry lacks a secondary school, but features two primary schools, Port Ferry Consolidated

01:19 and St. Patrick's Parish.

01:21 The town hosts football, netball, bowls, cricket, soccer and tennis clubs alongside the Port

01:29 Ferry Surf Lifesaving Club on East Beach.

01:32 In a village full of tourist attractions, Griffiths Island is one of the most iconic.

01:37 Its lighthouse was built in 1859, when Port Ferry was becoming an important trading hub

01:42 for Western Victoria.

01:43 It was operated by lighthouse keepers for almost a century, until it became automated

01:48 in 1954.

01:50 The 31 hectare region is also of significant interest to wildlife enthusiasts, with the

01:55 site hosting a large breeding colony of short-tailed shearwaters.

01:59 A viewing platform facilitates bird watching, as the shearwaters return in a swarm at dusk,

02:04 with an estimated 100,000 burrows existing on the island.

02:08 [Music]