Port Campbell National Park
Encyclopedia
Port Campbell is a national park in Victoria, Australia, 190 kilometres south-west of Melbourne.
The Port Campbell National Park is a protected national park in Victoria, Australia, 190 kilometres south-west of Melbourne; featuring an array of sheer cliffs overlooking offshore islets, rock stacks, gorges, arches, and blow-holes. As part of the Shipwreck Coast, it hosts several tourist attractions; including The Twelve Apostles
, the London Arch
(formerly London Bridge), Loch Ard Gorge
, the Gibson Steps
, and The Grotto
.
The park is subject to salt-laden air, and the cliff-tops are particularly exposed to the harsh weather conditions from the Southern Ocean
. However, fragile grasslands and heath-lands are still able to develop, supporting plant species such as sun orchid and spider orchid
. In protected areas, plant life includes beard-heath, bower spinach, coast daisy bush
, daisies and cushion bush. The wilder terrain hosts an assortment of she-oaks, dogwoods, correa, messmate
, trailing guinea-flower, woolly tea-tree and scented paperbark.
The fauna in the park is largely ornithological; and includes honeyeaters, southern emu and fairy wrens, swamp harriers, rufous bristlebird, peregrine falcons, pelicans, ducks, black swans and egrets. Penguins, terns and dotterels are located along the shoreline, with hooded plovers nesting in exposed locations. Australasian gannets, wandering albatrosses and short-tailed shearwaters live out at sea. Land animals in the park include southern brown bandicoot, swamp antechinuse and echidna.
. By 1981 the park had grown to 1,750 hectares; extending from the eastern side of Curdies Inlet at Peterborough
to Point Ronald at Princetown
. In 2002, the Port Campbell Professional Fishermen's Association unsuccessfully attempted to block the creation of a proposed marine national park at the Twelve Apostles location, but were satisfied with the later Victorian Government decision to not allow seismic exploration at the same site by Benaris Energy; believing it would harm marine life.
Features
The Twelve Apostles, Victoria
The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia...
, the London Arch
London Arch
London Arch is a natural arch in the Port Campbell National Park, Australia.The arch is one of the tourist attractions along the Great Ocean Road near Port Campbell in Victoria...
(formerly London Bridge), Loch Ard Gorge
Loch Ard Gorge
The Loch Ard Gorge is part of Port Campbell National Park, Victoria, Australia, about 10 minutes drive west of The Twelve Apostles. It is a visible example of the process of erosion in action.-History:...
, the Gibson Steps
Gibson Steps
The Gibson Steps are an area of cliffs on the south coast of Australia, located at . The cliffs are the first sightseeing stopoff in Port Campbell National Park for travellers heading West along the Great Ocean Road, located about 2 minutes drive from The Twelve Apostles...
, and The Grotto
The Grotto, Victoria
The Grotto is a sinkhole geological formation and tourist attraction, found on the Great Ocean Road outside Port Campbell in Victoria, Australia...
.
The park is subject to salt-laden air, and the cliff-tops are particularly exposed to the harsh weather conditions from the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
. However, fragile grasslands and heath-lands are still able to develop, supporting plant species such as sun orchid and spider orchid
Spider orchid
Spider orchid typically refers to the orchid genus Caladenia as a whole.It may also mean one of the following:* Several Corybas species, including** Corybas macranthus** Corybas trilobus...
. In protected areas, plant life includes beard-heath, bower spinach, coast daisy bush
Daisy bush
Daisy bush can be:* Species of the genus Olearia* The New Zealand native Brachyglottis greyi *Gamolepis chrysanthemoides also known as African bush daisy...
, daisies and cushion bush. The wilder terrain hosts an assortment of she-oaks, dogwoods, correa, messmate
Messmate
Messmate is a common name for a group of species of tree in the plant genus Eucalyptus, all of which have rough bark. The name is of uncertain origin.Species commonly known as "messmate" include:* E. acmenoides...
, trailing guinea-flower, woolly tea-tree and scented paperbark.
The fauna in the park is largely ornithological; and includes honeyeaters, southern emu and fairy wrens, swamp harriers, rufous bristlebird, peregrine falcons, pelicans, ducks, black swans and egrets. Penguins, terns and dotterels are located along the shoreline, with hooded plovers nesting in exposed locations. Australasian gannets, wandering albatrosses and short-tailed shearwaters live out at sea. Land animals in the park include southern brown bandicoot, swamp antechinuse and echidna.
History
The Port Campbell National Park was dedicated in 1964 (with 700 hectares) in order to protect the limestone formations on and near the coastline adjacent to the Great Ocean RoadGreat Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is a stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I...
. By 1981 the park had grown to 1,750 hectares; extending from the eastern side of Curdies Inlet at Peterborough
Peterborough, Victoria
Peterborough is a town on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia; approximately three hours drive from Melbourne.-History:The town was believed to have been founded when the schooner SS Schomberg was wrecked in the middle of the 19th century, though the town was not sufficiently populated to...
to Point Ronald at Princetown
Princetown, Victoria
Princetown is a coastal village in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Ocean Road, east of the Twelve Apostles, in the Corangamite Shire.-General:...
. In 2002, the Port Campbell Professional Fishermen's Association unsuccessfully attempted to block the creation of a proposed marine national park at the Twelve Apostles location, but were satisfied with the later Victorian Government decision to not allow seismic exploration at the same site by Benaris Energy; believing it would harm marine life.