BELLS BEACH SURFING RECREATION RESERVE

COASTAL RESERVE BELLS BEACH, SURF COAST SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register

BELLS BEACH SURFING RECREATION RESERVE SOHE 2008

Statement of Significance

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  • History

    BELLS BEACH SURFING RECREATION RESERVE - History

    DRAFT SUMMARY HISTORY BY COLIN MCINTYRE
    BELLS BEACH EUROPEAN HISTORY
    
    1870’s Approximately 2100 acres of land surrounding Bells Beach down to Point Addis was acquired by Mr. John Calvert Bell and Mr. William Bell. Mr. John Bell built the homestead known as Addiscott.William Bell was the proprietor of the Geelong Times and Mayor of Geelong on 3 occasions (Wynd).
    
    1920 Surfing was first introduced to Victoria by Mr. Louis Whyte at Lorne.
    
    1940’s Dick Gerrard and friends often paddled around from Jan Juc to surf Bells Beach and Winki Pop.
    
    1953 Peter Troy, Owen Yateman and George Smith rode motor bikesthrough the scrub to Bells Beach along the old Cobb and Co. stagecoach road.
    
    1958 Joe Sweeny gained permission from the Barrabool Shire Engineer to widen the existing Cobb and Co. track. Mr. Lance Altman was commissioned for a fee of 30 pounds to bulldoze the two kilometre track into Bells Beach. Joe recouped the money by getting the 30 members of the newly formed Bells Beach Boardriders to donate a pound each.(Waves Mag.)
    
    1961The first boardriding contest held at Bells Beach over the Australia Day weekend in January.
    
    1962 Womens, mens and junior events were held. The contest was organised by Peter Troy and Vic Tantau who together had a surfboard making business. The contest was won by Terry Wall. As a result of poor surf it was decided to hold future contests at Easter during the season when better surf generally occurs.
    
    1963 The Bells surfing contest was held at Easter for the first time. The contest was organised by Peter Troy and Vic Tantau again and surfers from NSW and Queensland were invited to attend.
    
    1964The first world surfing championship was held at Manly, New South Wales.(History of Surfing – Nat Young) The Bells contest was organised by Victorian branch of the Australian Surfing Association for the first time.
    
    1965 The swell was a huge 6 metres. Barry Sutherland took photos of the huge waves which were published in the magazine Surfing World. This attracted the attention of surfers all over Australia and the reputation of Bells Beach began to spread.
    
    1966 The Bells contest became separate to the State Titles.
    
    1967 Barrabool Council set up a Committee of Management for Bells and acquired 42 acres from the Addiscott Pastoral Company, to allow construction of a through road from Bones Road to Jarosite Road. (Wynd)The Victorian Surfing Championships were held at Bells Beach and attracted an estimated 10,000 spectators. (Wynd)
    
    1970 Bells Beach was the venue for the World Surfing Titles for the first time in Australia. In those days the world title was decided at the one event and this event was the fifth World Surfing Titles.Council was able to obtain a $35,000 grant for the sealing of Bones and Jarosite Roads (Wynd). Negotiations for the acquisition of land from Addiscott Pastoral Company were completed and $22,500 was paid for the land.(Wynd)
    
    1971 Bells Beach was set aside for recreation purposes.The area became the Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve, the first of its kind in the world.
    
    1972 The Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve was officially opened in March by the Minister for State Development, Mr. Murray Byrne. (Wynd)
    
    1973 The Bells Beach surfing contest became a professional event. The first professional surfing event held in Australia at Bells Beach. Rip Curl Pty. Ltd. Sponsored the event with $2,500 total prize pool and $1,000 first prize. The winner was Michael Peterson who also won in 1974 and 1975.
    
    1981 A memorable year with the Bells Easter Contest swell getting up to 6 metres. This had not been seen since 1965. Simon Anderson won the contest on a board that had three fins. This was the first event won on a three finned board and the board revolutionised the surfing industry with the overwhelming majority of boards nowadays having three fins.
    
    1984 Cheyne Horan won the Bells Contest on a surfboard which had a winged fin based on a Ben Lexcen design similar to the Australia II yacht winged keel.
    
    1991The Bells Beach surfing contest was recognised as the longest running annual surfing competition. It has been held every year since 1962.(Geelong Advertiser March ’91)

    Permit Exemptions

    BELLS BEACH SURFING RECREATION RESERVE - Permit Exemptions

    General Exemptions:

    General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

    Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

    Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

    Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

    Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

    Specific Exemptions:

    General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object. General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible. General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it. General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. General Conditions: 5. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable. · Management and works in accordance with Environmental Management Plan for the Rip Curl Pro

    · removal of plants listed as noxious weeds in the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994

    · repairs, conservation and maintenance to hard landscape elements, buildings, structures, monuments, roads and paths

    Permit Exemption Policy

    BELLS BEACH SURFING RECREATION RESERVE - Permit Exemption Policy

    The Victorian Coastal Strategy (2002) developed by the Victorian Coastal Council establishes the overall framework for planning and management of the Victorian coast. The Bells Beach to Red Rocks Coastal Action Plan is currently in draft form. Once endorsed it will be a key document for providing strategic direction for the future management of this area of coast. A masterplan for Bells Beach/Winki Pop is also being prepared by the Surf Coast Shire in conjunction with the Bells Beach Advisory Committee, stakeholders and the community. Once endorsed, Heritage Victoria’s permit policy will largely flow from these documents.

    It should be noted that local surfers including groups such as Surfrider Foundation and Surfers Appreciating the Natural Environment (SANE), have worked with support from the Surf Coast Shire, to ensure that the natural and ecological values of the Bells Beach environment and vegetation are preserved for future generations to appreciate.

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