Great Ocean Road

A 45 kilometre section of the Great Ocean Road, between Lorne and Apollo Bay, is the location of the annual "Great Ocean Road Marathon". First run in 2005, the marathon is part of the Great Ocean Road Running Festival.[12] The course record of 2:27:37 was set in 2019 by English runner Nick Earl.[13][14] Earl broke the previous record of 2:27:42 set in 2011 by James Kipkelwon of Kenya, who also won the event in 2012.[15]

In July 2014, former World Road Cycling Champion and Tour de France winner Cadel Evans announced that the Great Ocean Road would play host to the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in early 2015, including elite races for men and women and a mass participation People's Ride.[16] As of 2019, the People's Ride includes three distance options—35 km, 65 km, or 115 km.[17][18]

Wiggle Amy's Gran Fondo cycling event is held in September and uses the section between Lorne and Skenes Creek.[19] One of the only cycling events in Australia held on a fully closed road, it is named for Amy Gillett, who was killed in a collision between the Australian women's cycling squad and a driver in Germany in 2005.[20]

Great Ocean Road

Construction on the road began on 19 September 1919. It was built by approximately 3,000 returned servicemen as a war memorial for fellow servicemen who had been killed in World War I. An advance survey team progressed through dense wilderness at approximately 3 kilometres a month. Construction was done by hand; using explosives, pick and shovel, wheelbarrows, and some small machinery,[7][23] and was at times perilous, with several workers killed on the job; the final sections along steep coastal mountains being the most difficult to work on. Anecdotal evidence from ABC archives in 1982 suggested workers would rest detonators on their knees during travel, as it was the softest ride for them.[23]

The soldiers were paid 10 shillings and sixpence for eight hours per day, also working a half-day on Saturdays. They used tents for accommodation throughout, and made use of a communal dining marquee and kitchen; food cost up to 10 shillings a week. Despite the difficulty involved in constructing the road, the workers had access to a piano, gramophone, games, newspapers and magazines at the camps.

In 1924, the steamboat Casino became stranded near Cape Patton after hitting a reef at Point Hawdon, near Grey River. A legend has grown around its cargo—claiming that it jettisoned 500 barrels of beer and 120 cases of spirits, and the road workers obtained the cargo, resulting in an unscheduled two-week-long drinking break—but Museums Victoria notes only that most of the cargo, largely composed of Christmas goods, was dumped into the sea.[26] 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."[27]

The Hitchcock Memorial at Mount Defiance

Tickets paying the toll fee circa 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 recoup construction costs. The charge, payable at Eastern View, was two shillings for motor cars, and 10 shillings for wagons with more than two horses.[2]

In November 1932, the section from Lorne to Apollo Bay was finished, bringing the road to completion. The road was officially opened with Victoria's Lieutenant-Governor Sir William Irvine holding a ceremony near Lorne's Grand Pacific Hotel, and the road subsequently being acknowledged as the world's largest war memorial.[10] 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".[2] 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.[24] A memorial was constructed in his name on the road at Mount Defiance, near Lorne, and he is still affectionately considered the Father of the Road.[28]

In its original state, the road was considered a formidable drive, fitting only a single vehicle comfortably at a time. Areas with sheer cliffs would be most hazardous, with only few places for drivers to 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.[22][29] On 2 October 1936, the road was handed to the State Government; with the deed for the road presented to the Victorian Premier at a ceremony at the Cathedral Rock toll gate. It was at this time that the tolls were also removed.[2]

In 1939 with the death of the chairman of the Country Roads Board WTB McCormick, who was also honorary engineer for the Great Ocean Road Trust, it was decided to build a memorial arch across the road at Eastern View.[30] The arch 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, was opened 4 November 1939.[31] The arch was rebuilt in 1973, and again in 1983 when it was destroyed by the Ash Wednesday bushfires.[32]

In 1962, the road was deemed by the Tourist Development Authority to be one of the world's great scenic roads.[33] It also had sections widened between the Lorne Hotel and the Pacific Hotel to improve traffic, while aiming to preserve its character.[34] Despite improvements, the road was still considered a challenging drive; the Victorian Police motor school even used it for training around 1966.[35]

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.[36] It experienced landslides on 11 August 1964,[37] and in 1971; both closing sections of the road near Lorne.[38] Because of the terrain surrounding the road, it was also closed due to bushfires in 1962[39] and 1964; particularly in areas with nearby campsites.[40] In January 2011 a section of the overhanging cliffs collapsed due to heavy rain.

In 2011, the road was added to the Australian National Heritage List.[41]

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.[42][43][44]