Today Koroit has a National Trust classification for its authentic streetscapes. The local hotel is a main contributor, although it's possibly better known for its St Patrick's Day tradition. If you happen to be in the vicinity at the time, you can sip green ale with the locals.
Port Fairy hasn't changed much since its whaling and sealing days. Charming white-washed cottages line the wide streets, the same way they have for over a century. Down at the wharves the 'catch of the day' may be purchased fresh from the boats which line the dock. East and south beaches are popular swimming spots, and historic inns, hostels and former whalers' cottages are now fine food restaurants and places to stay.
The National Trust has classified 50 of the buildings and 30 can be covered during a leisurely historical walk. Like other coastal settlements, Port Fairy was fortified against the Russians in the 1860s and three cannons memorialise this at Battery Point.
PORT FAIRY was once an early port and whaling centre but is now a quaint crayfishing town with a busy jetty, a harbour full of yachts, and over fifty National Trust-listed buildings. Heavy southern breakers roll into the surrounding beaches, and on Griffiths Island, poised between the ocean and Port Fairy Bay, there’s a muttonbird rookery with a specially constructed lookout where between September and April you can watch them roost at dusk.
For a historic town, it’s also quite a happening place, hosting numerous events: in summer the six-week-long Moyneyama Festival focuses on outdoor activities with events such as a raft race on the Moyne River, reaching its climax with the Moyneyama New Year’s Eve procession; at Easter the annual Queenscliff to Port Fairy yacht race ends here, with a huge party. The biggest event, however, is over the Labour Day long weekend in March, when the huge Port Fairy Folk Festival takes over the town, with Australian and overseas acts playing world, roots and acoustic music – everything from Koorie to country, and from blues to Celtic. Tickets are sold in early November; they usually sell out in less than a day. Up to twenty thousand people pour into town for the festival, and even a tent site is hard to get. For more information and festival bookings call the visitor information centre, on Bank Street (daily 9am–5pm, shorter hours in winter). It produces an excellent free map of the Port Fairy Heritage Walk, which takes you on a route around town to admire the many fine buildings.
The History Centre, in the old courthouse on Gipps Street by the river, displays costumes, historic photographs, shipwreck relics and other items relating to the town’s pioneer history (Wed, Sat & Sun 2–5pm, daily during school holidays & long weekends; $2).
Practicalities
The Seacombe House Motor Inn at 22 Sackville St, one of the many National Trust-listed buildings, has a few inexpensive rooms in the old hotel, as well as pricey modern motel units and historic cottages. In fact, there are numerous quaint colonial cottages and B&Bs, such as Whalers Cottages, on the corner of Whalers Drive and Regent Street, Cottages of the Port at 96 Gipps St, and Lough Cottage at 216 Griffith St. Full details of all cottages and B&Bs, and of Port Fairy’s six caravan parks, can be obtained from the visitor information centre.
Lunch, in the old Borough Chambers at 20 Bank St (Wed–Sun 9am–5pm, dinner Fri–Sun; extended hours during the holiday season), is a café that has eclectic and very enjoyable food. Rebecca’s, at 70 Sackville St, serves breakfasts and light lunches, cakes and good coffee, and next door at no. 72 delicious home-made ice cream. Culpepper’s, a health food shop at 24 Bank St, next to the visitor information centre, serves Devonshire teas and light meals. For an upmarket licensed restaurant, try the Merrijig Inn at 1 Campbell St, or the very good Stag Restaurant at the Seacombe House Motor Inn, 22 Sackville St (daily from 6am–3pm; bookings necessary tel 03/5568 1077). The best place to drink is the Caledonian Inn (“The Stump”), on the corner of Banks and James streets – it’s the oldest continually licensed pub in Victoria (since 1844).
Events
- Port Fairy Folk Festival (March)
- Port Fairy Spring Music Festival (October)