Apollo Bay

goddess Amphitrite Apollo Bay is part of the traditional lands of the Gadubanud, or King Parrot people, of the Cape Otway coast. By the early 19th century, the area was being frequented by sealers and whalers from Sydney. One local Indigenous name for the area, of uncertain language origin, is 'Krambruk'. The bay was named by a Captain Loutit in 1845 when he sheltered his vessel, the Apollo, here from a storm. The first European settlers were timber cutters in the 1850s who subsequently established sawmills. Although the bay provided a relatively sheltered anchorage, the lack of a suitable pier meant that logs were floated out to sea to be loaded on to ships. A township on Apollo Bay was surveyed in 1853 and named Middleton. In the 1860s, farming land was made available and in the mid 1870s, the first blocks in the township were offered for sale. A school was opened in 1880. Many earlier shipwrecks had occurred along the Cape Otway coastline. In 1936 a submarine telegraph and telephone cable from Apollo Bay to Stanley provided the first telephone connection to Tasmania from the mainland. The Apollo Bay Telegraph station closed in 1963 and is now a museum. ==Climate==

Apollo Bay has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with mild summers and damp winters. ==Events and festivals==

Events and festivals that have been held in Apollo Bay include: • Winterwild • Great Ocean Road Running Festival • Apollo Bay Seafood Festival • Apollo Bay and Otway District Agricultural Show • The Apollo Bay Music Festival (first held in 1993 and last held in 2013). A poster for the festival of 1999 by Jeff Ragus was featured on a postage stamp issued by Australia Post in 2006. ==Media==

The local radio station is Apollo Bay Radio (community) on 87.6 FM, broadcasting from studios in Apollo Bay. Also available in Apollo Bay is Mixx FM (commercial) on 95.9 FM, OCR FM (community) on 88.7 FM, Flow FM (commercial) on 97.9 FM, and 774 ABC Melbourne (national) on 89.5 FM. ==Sport==

Apollo Bay is host to various sports clubs, including: • Apollo Bay Surf Lifesaving Club, which was established in 1952 as a result of a meeting held on the foreshore by interested townspeople and Surf Lifesaving Victoria officials. The Apollo Bay SLSC became the ninth club to be affiliated with Surf Lifesaving Victoria. It is now affiliated with Life Saving Victoria, following the merger of the Victorian branch of the Royal Life Saving Society Australia and Surf Life Saving Victoria. • Apollo Bay Sailing Club, which provides opportunities for sailing to people of a diverse range of abilities and age groups. • Apollo Bay Golf Club, located on Nelson Street. • Apollo Bay and Otways Riding Club. • The Apollo Bay Football Netball Club, which has been affiliated with the Colac & District Football and Netball League since 1972. Additionally, Apollo Bay has hosted overnight stops on the Great Victorian Bike Ride six times (1991, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2016), including serving as the host for the rest day on the last four of those visits. (Collingwood Street), the foreshore reserve with surrounding hills in background, and the Apollo Bay Golf Club backed by the beach and bay ==People born or raised in Apollo Bay==

• Neil Melville – an actor born in Sydney, but spent his childhood in Apollo Bay • Sid O'Neil, Ted O'Neil, Michael Fitzgerald – members of the rock band The Vasco Era • H. A. Willis – essayist, spent his early childhood in Apollo Bay ==References==