More about Ocean Grove

Ocean Grove is the largest town on The Bellarine, covering about 20 square kilometres to the east of the Barwon River mouth. It enjoys the whole range of river and ocean activities. More and more residents commute to Geelong, and the relative number of holiday homes has declined but Ocean Grove is still a thriving holiday resort. In 1962, locals raised money to purchase a 143-hectare tract of significant bushland - the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve - that is a habitat for native fauna and a rare small blue butterfly which breeds in ant nests. A bustling shopping centre is located in The Terrace. The long foreshore reserve features beautiful, wide beaches on one side, and across the Barwon Heads Road, the sandy river mouth hosts superb camping sites in summer.

A brief history

In 1879, zealous American Methodists visited Melbourne and Point Lonsdale and proposed, among other things, the creation of religious camps. In 1882, land was bought for an Australian Methodist camp. The Methodist church acquired 222 hectares of land and more than 30 streets are named after Methodist personalities. The proposed ‘Temperance Settlement’ had covenants prohibiting the making or sale of alcoholic beverages. A coffee palace (1888) and a guesthouse were built and churches and schools soon after. This resort town, which still has no hotel within the city limits, grew steadily during the 1930s and 1940s. Many postwar European migrant families - mainly Dutch, Polish, German and Yugoslav - settled in Ocean Grove. The town began to take on a settled, suburban aspect during the building boom of the 1970s and 1980s.

Fast Facts

Population: 12,655 (Oc Area: 21.8 sq km Council: City of Greater Geelong

Name origins: The town was named after the American Methodists’ resort in New Jersey, ‘Ocean Grove’.