Aireys Inlet & District Association

Welcome to our website! The Aireys Inlet and District Association (AIDA) is a voluntary organisation that has been devoted for over 50 years to preserving the natural environment and character of the coastal strip that lies between Eastern View and Urquhart Bluff on the ‘Surf Coast’ of south eastern Australia. AIDA members include ratepayers, residents, their families and others who share a love of our district. Our communities lie along the Great Ocean Road, nestled between the ocean and the hinterland. Urquhart … Read More

Update from the June 2017 AIDA Newsletter.  At its meeting on 26 April the Surf Coast Shire refused both the planning application to alter some of the conditions in the section 173 agreement protecting the Painkalac Valley, and the application to subdivide the largest and most southern block. Once again the community demonstrated its passion for the valley by objecting to the applications. AIDA objected on behalf of its 400-plus members and it is interesting to note that about two-thirds of the remainder of the >120 objections were from people who are not AIDA members. The … Read More

Update June 2017: The construction of the new pedestrian refuge at the Bottom Shops is due to be completed by the end of June. The Surf Coast Shire consulted the community about the plans, and the extent of the works was altered in response to the feedback it received. We are pleased that the plans to widen the entrance to Inlet Crescent were dropped after AIDA raised its concerns with the shire. These works were not related to the new crossing and would have been an unnecessary suburbanisation of the area. The shire has had a detailed landscape … Read More

Update June 2017: VicRoads has advised AIDA that the painting of the guard rail, weld mesh fence posts and painting of the north-facing wall (behind the bus shelter) was due to begin in the middle of June. Planting the mature prickly tea tree will be done when the painting of this section is complete. The rest of the underpass painting is due to start shortly after. Update April 22nd 2017:  At a meeting held on April 3 with representatives from VicRoads, Surf Coast Shire, DELWP, the surf club and AIDA, agreements were reached on the … Read More

About 40 of our approximately 400 members bravely turned out on a wet and wild afternoon on Saturday 8 April to attend the 2017 AIDA AGM. We were pleased to welcome to the meeting our two Anglesea ward councillors, Margot Smith and Libby Coker, and the shire’s CEO Keith Baillie. The mayor, Brian McKiterick, and Cr Clive Goldsworthy, whose Lorne ward includes Moggs Creek and Eastern View, were apologies. Margot and Libby spoke briefly about current local issues while Keith spoke about the shire’s four-year Strategic Plan and the difficulties of balancing priorities when … Read More

NOTE RESCHEDULED DATE AND TIMES: Invitation from Barwon Water to Painkalac Reservoir Community Day. "Please join us as we officially open Painkalac Reservoir for recreational use. When: Saturday 22nd April 2017 Time: 1.30 pm till 4.30 pm Where: Please meet us at the Distillery Creek picnic area at 1.30 pm for a group walk-in at 1.45 pm. A return group will depart from the reservoir around 4.15 pm. RSVP Please come prepared for the 3-kilometre walk, which is expected to take around 45 minutes. A minibus will run to and from the site for … Read More

  Update March 2017: Members will be aware that on two occasions AIDA has applied for Aireys Inlet and district to be included in the Mobile Black Spot Program. We are particularly concerned that in the peak bushfire hazard period when mobile phone communication is essential for receiving emergency notifications and when our resident population increases eight-fold, mobile phone reception can be inadequate. When we heard that we were unsuccessful with the latest application, we wrote to Senator Fiona Nash, Minister for … Read More

  A draft Precinct Master Plan providing options for design direction and future development of the Eastern View Memorial Arch was outlined at the final meeting of the Community Reference Group held on 20 February 2017. This group, of which AIDA was a member, comprised representatives from the local community and from GORCC, DWELP, VicRoads, Surf Coast Shire, and the consultancy firm Spatial Design Studio. The Community Reference Group , and a parallel working group - the Agency Working Group - … Read More

Local council elections happen every four years on the fourth Saturday in October. The most recent council elections were held on Saturday 22 October 2016. Margot Smith and Libby Coker were re-elected to represent the Anglesea Ward, which includes Anglesea, Aireys Inlet and Fairhaven. As in 2012, there was only one vacancy and one candidate in the Lorne Ward (which includes Eastern View and Moggs Creek), and Clive Goldsworthy continues as the ward councillor. As also occurred prior to both the 2008 and 2012 Council elections, AIDA provided all candidates for the 2016 election with the opportunity to express their views or … Read More

October 2016: Lots of excitement on the newly rain-filled Allen Noble Sanctuary as our Black Swan parents are showing off seven new cygnets this year (photo by Noni Johnson).   Frieda Wachsmann's photos from 2013 (five cygnets that year) show how we can expect to see them growing up over the next months. October 13th 2013: December 1st:   December 14th: December 30th: (note the adult feathers … Read More

Back to the oval yet again! Update September 2016: Over the winter months the AIDA committee became aware that another proposal for an oval on the Painkalac Valley was being raised in the community and with Council. The concept of an oval on the valley was thoroughly explored during 2015 during the preparation of the Aireys Inlet to Eastern View Structure Plan and the Shire’s Open Spaces Policy which both concluded that the development of an oval in the valley would not … Read More

It had been a very long time since we had as much rain as in July 2016. The highest rainfall for any July recorded at the Aireys Inlet weather station (since it opened in 1990) was 104.8 mm in 2000. The total monthly rainfall last July was 137 mm, more than double the long term July average of 66.5 mm. Over half of the rain that fell in July fell on only three days - on Thursday 6 July (33 mm) and on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 July (total 39.8 … Read More

July 2016 Update: AIDA originally wrote to the shire in October 2015 with a request to review its use of herbicide in public spaces, around trees, fences and bollards, and along pathways, drains and roadsides in and around Aireys Inlet. The spraying regime had resulted in some very ugly and unnecessarily large areas of bald earth and the only obvious reason for the spraying is to facilitate grass mowing in these areas. Our letter included some photos. AIDA asked the shire to stop using … Read More

Presented by Charlotte Allen at the AIDA AGM on 9 April 2016.  I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on Wadawurrung land and pay my respects to their elders both past and present. It gives me great pleasure to present the President’s Report on AIDA's activities during the past year. I would first like to welcome our Ward Councillor Margot Smith as well as the shire’s CEO Keith Baillie and thank them for giving us their Saturday … Read More

On 28 January 2016, the Surf Coast Shire Council adopted their Open_Space_Strategy 2016-2025, which will guide open space planning, provision and management across the Shire during the next 10 years and support greater collaboration with other land managers. The Shire’s open space includes parks for passive social and family recreation, sporting reserves for active sport and recreation, conservation and nature … Read More

NOVEMBER 2015 UPDATE: A new structure plan for Aireys Inlet, Fairhaven, Moggs Creek and Eastern View has now replaced the existing  Structure Plan  developed in 1993. On initiating the planning process the shire said ‘The plan will help guide the way the settlements develop and change over the next 20 to 30 years to ensure the highly valued features of the towns are protected and the towns … Read More

  On 22 August 2015, Barwon Water informed our community of their decision to take the Painkalac Reservoir out of service and provide water to Aireys Inlet and Fairhaven from the Geelong supply system via an 11 km pipeline extension from Anglesea.  The water treatment plant was to be decommissioned rather than upgraded. The changeover will provide a more secure long-term … Read More

A major purpose of AIDA is raising community awareness of, and canvassing the community’s views on, issues of significance in the district. In addition AIDA supports environmental, sociological and other studies and surveys performed by the Surf Coast Shire or other bodies such as the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC). Over the nearly … Read More