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 of Eastern View, Moggs Creek, Fairhaven and Aireys Inlet lie along the Great Ocean Road, nestled between the ocean and the hinterland. Urquhart Bluff … Read More

  FIRE. UNPLANNED. WEBINAR SERIES: This free webinar series has been organised by the Friends of Lorne and AIDA to help provide us with a broader understanding of unplanned fires. We will be asking the question: What’s the future of living in bushfire-prone regions? The webinars will be held via Zoom on the 10th, 14th and 17th of September and can be booked at no cost via Eventbrite. Each session is of one hour duration, with two speakers at each session. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions of an expert panel. The webinar program will explore: What we can do to limit future damage to … Read More

Local council elections happen every four years on the fourth Saturday in October. The 2020 elections will be held on Saturday 24th October. The Surf Coast Shire is divided into four wards. Torquay Ward (four councillors), Winchelsea  Ward (two councillors), Anglesea Ward (which includes Anglesea, Aireys Inlet and Fairhaven, two councillors), and Lorne Ward (which includes Eastern View and Moggs Creek, one councillor). Currently, Anglesea Ward is represented by two Anglesea residents, Margot Smith (councillor since 2012, but not standing for election again) and Tony Revell, who was elected in 2019 in a by-election to replace Aireys resident Libby Coker following her election as the new federal member for Corangamite. Thus far we know that three candidates will be standing for … Read More

AUGUST 2020   Great Ocean Road Communities come together. Seven community groups from along the Great Ocean Road (GOR) have come together to form the Great Ocean Road Communities Network (GORCN). The Network has come into being to facilitate communication and coordinated action among established community groups in towns along the GOR and its hinterland. As the GOR evolves to be a designated visitor destination under a new state government authority, the GOR Coast and Parks Authority (GORCPA), the community network will allow the member organisations to advocate … Read More

Update August 2020:   Community Covid-19 matters.   On Wednesday 5th August,  there was another Community Zoom meeting organized by the Surf Coast Shire. There are currently 5 local cases of Covid-19 and the Shire’s senior emergency management staff are working with the Department of Health and Human Services, VicPol and other services to help protect the community. Council received over 40 applications to its Covid-19 Recovery Assistance Grants program and some of these will be considered by Council at its next meeting. AIDA made an application for funds for an oral history based project on the Aireys Inlet and district community and its responses to two radically different crises, 1983 and 2020, … Read More

UPDATE AUGUST 2020:   Decision on planning application for a private bridge.   At its meeting on Tuesday 28th July Council voted 5/3 to refuse the planning application for a private bridge to be built on public Conservation and Resource zoned land across the Painkalac Creek. An article about the decision was published in the 6th August edition of the Surf Coast Times (see below) or you can read it more clearly on page 9 of the digital edition of the newspaper available here: Many thanks to the many AIDA members who expressed their views to … Read More

UPDATE July 2020:    The Great Ocean Road attracts an average of 11,000 visitors per day across the year, two-thirds of them daytrippers. There are more visitors than to the Great Barrier Reef or Uluru. No fewer than fourteen different entities have responsibilities for different sections of the road, its marine parks and hinterland. Planning and protection have been a mess. So in October 2018 the state government launched its Great Ocean Road Action Plan with a view to establishing a single Authority with overarching responsibility to meet the challenges of ‘increasing visitor numbers, forces of nature and the impacts of climate … Read More

UPDATE JULY 2020:   Over the past two years extensive planting and regeneration works have resulted in new growth of native vegetation and the return of wildlife to Lot 2 on the Painkalac Valley floor. The most recent arrivals are a pair of native Shelducks that seem to have settled in. These beautiful birds are not often seen around the area and it is exciting that the regeneration works are creating this new habitat. Lot 2 is owned by AIDA members, Mick Loughnan and Jacinta Halloran, with the regeneration works supported by AIDA and ANGAIR. Support for the project has also been provided by a CCMA administered Landcare grant to … Read More

Fifty of AIDA’s approximately 450 members attended the 2020 AIDA Annual General Meeting which, because of the COVID-19 assembly restrictions, was held on-line via Zoom at 3 pm on Saturday 30th May. A further fifteen members who were not able to attend the Zoom meeting provided proxy voting forms, all indicating their approval of the formal motions that had been advertised in advance in the emailed meeting papers. Interestingly, more members participated in our Zoomed AGM than normally attend in person when our AGMs are held in the Aireys Inlet Community Hall. AIDA president Charlotte Allen welcomed local Surf Coast Shire councillors Margot Smith and Tony … Read More

Updated 14 May 2020: We hope you are all staying safe and healthy in these challenging times. There will be some difficult days ahead for all of us, but the AIDA committee will do everything it can to keep you informed about what is happening in our community. In particular we will be reporting on Zoom meetings of a network of people representing our community who come together regularly to raise and discuss any issues that might emerge. Updates on the meetings of the Community Zoom Network are included in AIDA's recent email messages to members (for copies see links at the end of this post). The Surf Coast Shire has established a Community Support Team to help its communities through the COVID-19 Pandemic. The team will be … Read More

STOP PRESS APRIL 2020: A Facebook page has been set up for the Aireys, Fairhaven, Moggs Creek and Eastern View Community to share information and keep in touch. It is 3231 Surfcoast Connection. If you’ve not already joined the AIDA Facebook page please do: AIDA - Aireys Inlet & District Association. Join both Facebook pages and stay in touch with your community. AIDA is now on Facebook! Community and member engagement is important to us. We are now on Facebook so we can connect … Read More

April 2020: UPDATE#2 On Wednesday 8th April the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) released its final report into the boundary changes in the Surf Coast Shire that are needed to ensure that the number of voters in each Ward meet statutory requirements. VEC had proposed using the Painkalac Creek as the boundary between the Lorne and Anglesea Wards which would have put all of Fairhaven, Moggs Creek and Eastern View into the Lorne Ward. AIDA made a detailed submission arguing against this change (as did many others). We are very pleased that the VEC has accepted our arguments and the boundary between the Lorne and Anglesea Wards remains unchanged. Unfortunately this still leaves part of Moggs Creek and Eastern View in the Lorne … Read More

Update March 15, 2020: THE AIDA AGM AND BUSHFIRE FORUM HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO THE COVID-19 VIRUS.   On March 15 the AIDA committee decided to postpone the AGM and Bushfire Forum from its scheduled date of 4 April. It will be rescheduled as soon as the situation becomes clearer and the threat of COVID-19 has passed. We hope that this will be within a couple of months. We will let you know. In the meantime we hope everyone stays safe and healthy. ________________________________________ The 2020 AIDA Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday … Read More

On Tuesday 7 January AIDA convened a large and successful public forum on the topic ‘Can the Great Ocean Road Always be Great?’ in the Fairhaven Surf Lifesaving Clubrooms. It was attended by about 110 people from along the coast between Lorne and Anglesea. Richard Riordan, State Member for Polwarth, Surf Coast Shire Ward Councillors Margot Smith and Tony Revell, Surf Coast Shire CEO Keith Baillie, and GORCC CEO Vanessa Schernickau were among those there. The meeting heard from Colleen White (Regional Director, Barwon South West DELWP), Paul Jane (Manager Great Ocean Road Reform, DELWP) and local resident and AIDA committee member Professor … Read More

Local residents are likely to have seen some of the promotional media for the Anglesea Eden Project, a proposed $150m ‘experience centre’ on the old Alcoa site, drawing on a UK development of the same name. Assessing the value and potential impacts of this proposal has proven difficult for the Anglesea community. One thing is clear: the impact from such a project would reach way beyond the existing town. There may soon come a time when communities along this section of the Great Ocean Road will need to be actively involved in shaping what develops beyond the current, rather sketchy, projection of an idea. When that time will come is … Read More

The Surf Coast Shire council is committed to controlling pest plant and animal species on the Surf Coast. The Shire under its obligations to manage council-owned and managed land has just finalised the Pest Plant and Animal Strategy 2020-2023 which has been accepted by council. The strategy is underpinned by five goals and a number of guiding principles. These goals and principles include the prevention of new species from invading the Surf Coast, and the minimisation of the impact of those species already established. Council is committed to working with land-care groups and community groups such as Angair to manage these pests. … Read More

Visitors to and residents of our area are often amazed at the beauty of our night sky. On a clear night we see why it is called the Milky Way. The stars sparkle and twinkle like diamonds, and lead to all sorts of discussions about just what might be out there. One of AIDA’s aims is to support planning controls that preserve the visibility of the night sky by limiting artificial lighting on the exterior of commercial buildings. This aim also extends to the unnecessary installation of street lighting. As part of AIDA’s policy on maintaining the darkness of the night sky it is a member of the International Dark Sky Association: … Read More

  In February some AIDA Committee members attended a very interesting meeting in Lorne to discuss fire issues, particularly around traffic management and evacuation of communities along the coast. Also present were Rowan McKenzie, Manager Environment and Community Safety, Surf Coast Shire (SCS); Peter Ashton, Coordinator Community Safety Management, SCS; Rob Wiley, Senior Sergeant for the Surf Coast VicPol; Clive Goldsworthy, SCS Lorne Ward Councillor; Ian Stewart, Chair, Committee for Lorne; Peter Spring, Committee for Lorne; and Chris Tutungie, Lorne CFA. Issues around … Read More

A new Marine and Coastal Policy being developed under the Marine and Coastal Act 2018 is due for release in December 2019. The plan aims to better manage coastal eco-systems, including all public and private land and coastal waters in Victorian and 5.5 km inland of the high water mark (an extension inland on current policies). The draft policy aims to better integrate planning for marine and coastal areas, consider whole of eco-system impacts of new proposals and give greater roles to traditional owners. Priorities include managing risks such as climate change, defining coastal town … Read More

Update November 2019:  The various concerns AIDA has over compliance with the Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the Painkalac Valley have been outlined in many recent reports (see below). We understand that individual Action Plans have been negotiated with the landowners and lessee of Lot 3, but unfortunately the shire initially declined to provide an update in time for the November newsletter deadline and this website update. The issues we are particularly interested in are the continued grazing in the now fenced ephemeral wetlands, lack of protection of remnant … Read More

Planning Update - November 2019:  One of AIDA’s aims is to ensure that, as our area develops and changes, it retains its low-key coastal village character with houses nestled in the trees. To help meet this aim one of the AIDA committee’s regular tasks is to review all the planning applications submitted to council that are in the area from Urquhart Bluff to Eastern View. This is done to ensure new building works comply with all the shire’s planning policies and regulations and meet our Neighbourhood Character Guidelines. In all instances where there are significant breaches of the various planning policies AIDA lodges an objection. At times this results in us appearing at VCAT. It has been very disappointing recently that there have … Read More

Update November 2019:  A spokesperson for Regional Roads Victoria said that work on the new Moggs Creek bridge will begin after the peak summer period. The decision on the exact dates for construction will depend on consultation between VicRoads, Emergency Services and the CFA to put a fire plan, including optimum dates, in place to ensure the safety of the community. See further information from Regional Roads Victoria (above).   Update December 2018: Regional Roads Victoria, formerly VicRoads, has released its updated plans … Read more

      Congratulations to Libby Coker and Tony Revell! We congratulate Libby Coker on her win in the recent federal election. With Libby elected as the new member for Corangamite a by-election for a new ward councillor was required by the Surf Coast Shire. The by-election was held in September. After many years of there being a ward councillor from the Aireys Inlet/Fairhaven area it was disappointing that we had no ‘local’ candidate this election. Prior to the election the AIDA committee contacted all the candidates to inform them about AIDA and its aims. The successful candidate, Anglesea resident Tony Revell, was invited to meet with the AIDA committee prior to its November meeting so we could introduce ourselves and … Read More

Thirty seven of AIDA’s approximately 450 members attended the  2019 AIDA Annual General Meeting, which was held on Saturday 27th April at the Aireys Inlet Community Hall. AIDA president Charlotte Allen welcomed councillor Margot Smith, who thanked AIDA for inviting her to attend the AGM and gave a short presentation. Margot reported that consultation on the future use of the Alcoa site in Anglesea is continuing and the State Government has released its plan on the Futures Land Use for the area. However, not all the community is happy with it and, in particular people want … 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

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

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