off
Loch Ard Gorge, shortly before it collapsed in 2009. The Great Ocean Road was first planned towards the end of
World War I, when Chairman of the
Country Roads Board,
William Calder, asked the State War Council for funds to be provided for returned soldiers to work on roads in sparsely populated areas in the Western District. At the time, the rugged south-west coast of Victoria was accessible only by sea or rough bush track. It was envisaged that the road would connect isolated settlements on the coast and become a vital transport link for the timber industry and tourism. Surveying of the road, tentatively titled the
South Coast Road, started in 1918. It was suggested that it run from
Barwon Heads in the east, follow the coast west around
Cape Otway, and end near Warrnambool. In 1918, the Great Ocean Road Trust was formed as a private company, under the helm of president
Howard Hitchcock. The company managed to secure £81,000 in capital from private subscriptions and borrowing, with Hitchcock himself contributing £3000. The money was to be repaid by charging drivers a toll until the debt was cleared, and the road would then be gifted to the state.
Construction Construction began on 19 September 1919. Approximately 3,000
returned servicemen worked on the project, which was a war memorial for servicemen killed in World War I. The advance survey team progressed through dense scrub at a rate of approximately three kilometres a month. Construction was mostly by hand, using explosives, pick and shovel, wheelbarrows, and some small machinery,
The Age reported that, "The Great Ocean-road [sic] proved a boon to the passengers, who were enabled without much inconvenience to reach Wood's farm house,
Apollo Bay. However, if the road were finished, the vessel's cargo could be safely conveyed to either Apollo Bay, the
Wye River, or Lorne."
Completion and early use Memorial at Mount Defiance, c.1930 On 18 March 1922, the section from Eastern View to
Lorne was officially opened, with celebrations. However, it was then closed from 10 May 1922 for further work, opening again on 21 December, along with tolls to help recoup construction costs. The charge, payable at the Eastern View toll gate, was two
shillings for motor cars, and 10 shillings for wagons with more than two horses. At the time,
The Age commented, "In the face of almost insurmountable odds, the Great Ocean Road has materialised from a dream or 'wild-cat scheme', as many dubbed it, into concrete reality". Although Hitchcock had died of heart disease on 22 August 1932, before the road was completed, his car was driven behind the governor's in the procession along the road during the opening ceremony. In its original state, the road was considered a formidable drive, comfortably accommodating only a single vehicle at a time. Areas with sheer cliffs were the most hazardous, with only few places where drivers could pull over to allow others to proceed in the opposite direction. For £5, any "public-spirited citizen" could request that a crossover be cut into the road. On 2 October 1936, the road was handed to the State Government, with the deed for the road being presented to the Victorian Premier at a ceremony at the Cathedral Rock toll gate. Tolls were removed at that time. The arch was opened 4 November 1939, and was built of timber logs on a stone base, with a tablet memorial to Mr McCormick on one side, and another to the returned servicemen on the other. The arch was rebuilt in 1973 when the road was widened, and again in 1983, after being destroyed in the
Ash Wednesday bushfires. It had to be rebuilt yet again after it collapsed during a storm in 1990. In 1962, the Tourist Development Authority deemed the road to be "one of the world's great scenic roads". Despite improvements, the road was still considered a challenging drive, and the
Victorian Police motor school was using it for training around 1966. Over its life, the Great Ocean Road has been susceptible to natural elements. In 1960, the section at
Princetown was partially washed away by water during storms. There were landslides on 11 August 1964, and 1971, both closing sections of the road near Lorne. Because of the terrain surrounding the road, it was also closed due to
bushfires in 1962 and 1964, particularly in areas with nearby campsites. In January 2011, a section of a cutting collapsed due to heavy rain. In 2011, the road was added to the
Australian National Heritage List.
Road classification Great Ocean Road was signed as State Route 100 between Torquay and Allansford in 1986. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was updated to route B100 in 1996. The passing of the
Road Management Act 2004 granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to
VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as
Great Ocean Road (Arterial #4890), beginning at
Surf Coast Highway at
Torquay and ending at
Princes Highway in
Allansford.
Great Ocean Walk In 2004, the
Great Ocean Walk opened, connecting 104 km of walking trails that follow the coastline near the Great Ocean Road, stretching from
Apollo Bay to the
12 Apostles. == Engineering heritage award ==