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 May 2019:   AIDA has now submitted its full response ( AIDA Resp GOR Final 4May2019 ) to the Great Ocean Road Action Plan. As AIDA President Charlotte Allen noted in the Foreword to the document: "Rather than continue without a proper strategy and with too many organisations involved in making uncoordinated decisions concerning the Great Ocean Road (GOR), the establishment of the Taskforce and the Government’s response through the creation of the Action Plan represent a real opportunity; an opportunity not only to protect the local … Read More

Update March 2019: The Painkalac Valley continues to be of concern and interest to the AIDA committee, our members and many others in the community. In the most recent update (see below) we reported that we were waiting for advice from our lawyers about what might be our options. However, before we received this advice in early December we were notified by the Shire’s planning department that they had asked for assistance from the Department of Justice’s Mediation service to see whether the various issues could be resolved through mediation. The parties in the … Read More

  March 2019 - from member Michael Loughnan:  It’s easy not to fully appreciate the geography of a place, even one you’ve visited for over 40 years. Of course, having crossed the bridge over the Painkalac Creek between Aireys Inlet and Fairhaven hundreds of times I had seen the transformation of the inlet and estuary from a degraded, treeless landscape to the wonderful wetland area it is today, a transformation due to the commitment and hard work of many members of the community over a long period. What I hadn’t really noticed was how, hidden from view when crossing the bridge, there was … Read More

At the 2018 AGM it was agreed that in future AIDA will hold a community meeting in January each year. At the first such meeting, held on Tuesday 8 January 2019, the Victorian government’s new Great Ocean Road Action Plan was debated at a packed summer community forum at the Fairhaven Surf Life Saving Club. The forum, entitled ‘Will Tourism Kill the Great Ocean Road?’ gave holiday-home owners, residents and visitors a chance to consider the plan. Libby Sampson, the Great Ocean Road Taskforce Project Manager at DELWP (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning), noted … Read More

Update December 2018: The feasibility study the council is carrying out on the Walking the Painkalac Project is nearing completion and it is likely that community feedback on the options will be sought over summer. The study is weighing up environmental, social and economic objectives and one of the challenges will be designing a project that can secure funding. A decision to proceed with the project will depend on detailed design work, a council budget allocation and securing funding partners from other levels of government. Charlotte … Read More

Update December 2018: Regional Roads Victoria, formerly VicRoads, has released its updated plans for the replacement of the bridge at Moggs Creek. It was very pleasing to see that the engineers have listened to the community’s concerns about the original design and have made substantial and significant changes to their plans. Among the issues raised by the original design was the alignment of the bridge: to facilitate construction, the Great Ocean Road would have been realigned and the bridge located much closer to the beach, making it more … Read more

It is great that AIDA has an actively involved membership and we are always pleased to receive queries and comments from you. We received one in October querying an online application to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation for a liquor licence for a restaurant and café in Aireys Inlet. Our member commented – ‘If Google maps are correct, this would seem somewhat inappropriate in the middle of a residential area.’ So we followed up and here’s what we found!! We rang the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor … Read More

Update September 2018: AIDA hosted a community meeting on 4 August to discuss the implications of re-opening Coalmine Road to through traffic. About 100 people attended, many of them not AIDA members, which was pleasing to see. As part of the rehabilitation works at its former coal mine near Anglesea, Alcoa is required to realign and enable the reopening of Coalmine Road. The road has been closed for at least a decade. The works raise a question for the Surf Coast Shire: should Coalmine Road remain blocked off, should it be … Read More

Plan a car-free weekend at Aireys Inlet from 30 September 2018 Two new bus services or a doubling of services have just started for Aireys Inlet. The new Sunday buses allow for travel towards Melbourne mid-afternoon plus the later evening option, and combined with Friday afternoon and evening services make it much easier for a car-free weekend at Aireys. Catherine … Read More

At the Surf Coast Shire Council meeting of 22 May 2018 council adopted the Unsealed Road And Street Network Strategy. The new strategy is a combination of the Sealed Road Network Management Plan 2015 and the Unsealed Road Network Strategy, which is the outcome of a report commissioned by council from consultants, AECOM. This strategy is aimed at better management of council’s 574 km of unsealed roads to replace an ad hoc response to residents’ requests for the sealing of roads. AECOMM has designed an assessment tool to help better … Read More

Forty-two of AIDA's approximately 450 members attended the  2018 AIDA Annual General Meeting, which was held on Saturday 28th April at the Aireys Inlet Community Hall. AIDA president Charlotte Allen welcomed councillors Margot Smith and Libby Coker and CEO of the Surf Coast Shire Keith Baillie to speak on current issues. Margot and Libby said they would welcome AIDA’s feedback on the council draft budget. Consultation on the future use of the Alcoa site in Anglesea is continuing. Margot noted that feedback from the … Read More

Update March 2018:  When the Commonwealth Govt. announced in May 2016 that Aireys Inlet would be included in the second round of black spot funding to remedy poor mobile telecommunications, we thought that it was just a matter of time before we got a new base station. However, The Geelong Advertiser of 10 January 2018 reported that the Victorian Govt. was withdrawing from the scheme as they considered it ‘a pork-barrelling exercise’. The state government project does not have a timeline but will ‘… choose new mobile phone tower locations, in … Read More

March 2018: The AIDA committee routinely reviews all planning applications made to the Surf Coast Shire that are within our area of interest – Urquhart Bluff to Eastern View. In the rare instances where the applications are significantly outside the Surf Coast Shire planning scheme or covenant requirements and would be detrimental to the local character or set a precedent, the AIDA committee sends an objection to Council. At times, these applications proceed to a VCAT hearing and AIDA will often choose to support its objection at VCAT. It … Read More

Update March 2018:  As a participant in the GORCC Memorial Arch Masterplan Community Reference Group, AIDA attended the final committee meeting in February. This consultation group has been meeting since 2015 and a final `interim’ Options paper has been developed which seeks to balance the need to retain the historical significance of the Memorial Arch site against the need to protect the fragile dune area from the increasing number of tourists visiting the site. The final option was a compromise to shutting the site completely which was the … Read More

Update December 2017: Painkalac Reservoir now home to 7000 perch.  Barwon Water and Fisheries Victoria have joined forces to stock the Painkalac Reservoir with 7000 native estuary perch fingerlings, which will grow up to be a drawcard for recreational anglers. The Reservoir previously supplied Aireys Inlet and Fairhaven with drinking water, but was taken out of service when the townships were connected to the Geelong water supply system in May 2016. (From The Echo 16 December 2017). Update April 2017: Community celebrates the official opening of the Painkalac Reservoir for … Read More

Update December 2017:   Not only was the Great Ocean Road underpass to the Fairhaven Surf Lifesaving Club and Beach massive, it was a colour that would draw attention to it. After an outcry from our community, VicRoads arranged for the underpass and associated infrastructure to be painted darker, less obtrusive colours. The whole structure (concrete walls, handrails, barriers and fences) has been painted a ‘palette’ of four different colours. Each concrete panel is painted one colour. Once the mature plants have become established, they will also contribute to the … Read More

Update December 2017: Bottom Shops pedestrian refuge – light and landscaping. AIDA provided feedback to the shire during the community consultation undertaken for the Bottom Shops pedestrian refuge project. One of our concerns was the need for, and size, of the new light that was included in the works. We were concerned that what was planned was a standard 11-metre VicRoads motorway light. We wrote to council with our concerns and were very pleased that they agreed to reduce the pole height to 8.5 metres and have an LED globe to reduce glare. Given this, … Read More

Update October 2017: AIDA has had a very long term interest in the development of older persons' housing on the vacant land in Fraser Drive, Aireys Inlet (see below for an account of the history of this project, which goes back to the 1980s). The Surf Coast Shire Council and the Department of  Human Services are currently reviewing Council's involvement in social housing in Aireys Inlet, and as part of this review the Council is considering the future of the vacant land known as 2 Fraser Drive. The following link  OPH SCS Project Update - Fraser Drive Aireys … Read More

On 12 September 2017 AIDA committee members Charlotte Allen, Lecki Ord and Ian Godfrey met with the Minister for Planning, Dick Wynne and his advisors. We had written to him with our concerns that recent State-wide changes to the provisions for streamlined planning permits, known as “VicSmart” permits, would limit the community's ability to participate in planning decisions and may over time lead to a deterioration of local character along our coast. VicSmart permits must be issued within 10 … 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

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 in 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 be … 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