Queenscliff

"Your private getaway, with all the creature comforts of home” This luxurious 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom holiday house, located just 100m from Queenscliff’s premier safe swimming beach and an easy 10 minute stroll to cafes and shops. Flinders Nest is a great place from which to tour the delights of the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula or to simply escape, relax and unwind.

Self contained, spacious upstairs apartment centrally located in Hesse St, Queenscliff. Easy walking distance to beach, shops, restaurants and the Blues Train. Queen size bed and single bed in seperate rooms, sunny light filled lounge room, kitchenette, dining area and bathroom.

QUEENSCLIFF Accommodation:

Queenscliff and the nearby towns of Point Lonsdale and Portarlington are well serviced with hotels and motels. There are a considerable number of self catering and holiday type accommodation such as bed and breakfasts (also known as bnb and b&b), apartments, holiday houses, cottages, cabins, guesthouses as well as tourist or caravan parks, and backpackers or hostels. Also check out the self contained accommodation and bed and breakfasts in the nearby towns of Point Lonsdale, Portarlington, St Leonards and Indented Head all on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Self catering accommodation – Apartments, holiday houses, cottages, cabins, b&b’s and guesthouses in Queenscliff are:

• Alassio Cottage
• Athelstane House
• Banks at Queenscliffe
• Benambra Bed & Breakfast
• BIG4 Beacon Resort
• Cliff's Cottage
• Flinders Nest
• Lola's By The Sea
• Maison Cottage
• Oz one Hotel
• Queenscliff and point lonsdale accommodation
• Queenscliff Seaside Cottages
• Roseneath Villa B & B
• Royal Hotel
• Ruby's Bed and Breakfast
• Seaview Guesthouse
• Seaview House
• Silversands at Queenscliff
• Suma Park Cottages
• Swan Bay Home
• The Esplanade Hotelo
• The Pilot's House Bed & Breakfast
• The Queenscliff Hotel
• The Queenscliff Inn
• The Salt House
• Vue Grand
• Waratah at Queenscliff
• Wyuna Motor Inn 

Tourist, Caravan or Holiday Parks in Queenscliff are:

• Big4 Beacon Resort
• Queenscliff Tourist Parks

The Motels in Queenscliff are:

• Beacon Resort Motel
• Wyuna Motor Inn

The Hotels in Queenscliff are:

• Vue Grand Hotel
• Queenscliff Hotel
• Athelstane House

Queenscliff is not officially on the Great Ocean Road but it is never the less the first town to visit on this stretch of coast, and if you happen to come by boat across the heads of Port Phillip Bay, it is the place where you will disembark. Here you can experience the lifestyle of the rich and famous. Stooped in history this beautiful town has two magnificent hotels with 5 star accommodation and a number of highly rated B and B's and guest houses. 

Queenscliff is one of those delightful seaside resorts which is both a popular beachside destination and a sophisticated retreat characterised by elegant hotels, guesthouses, galleries, some substantial public buildings, chic restaurants, cafes, a fine golf course, ferries, wide streets faced by terraced houses and both bay and surf beaches. In the 1880's, Melbourne's most affluent would arrive on paddle steamers for a luxury seaside retreat. Today, travellers on every type of budget flock to Queenscliff for fine dining, the grandeur of beautifully restored hotels, luxurious Bed and Breakfasts and the stunning natural features.

Queenscliff is located on an isthmus at the south-eastern tip of the Bellarine Peninsula. It sits just inside the entrance to Port Phillip Bay, 103 km south of Melbourne and 30 km from Geelong.

The Queenscliff area was originally inhabited by the Wathawurung Aborigines who, in 1803, befriended a white man, William Buckley, an escaped convict. Buckley married a woman of the tribe, had a daughter by her and lived in the area for 32 years before rejoining European civilization.
As Queenscliff overlooks the shipping channel to Melbourne and Geelong it became the base for the pilots to guide boats through the heads, the treacherous ‘Rip’, responsible for many shipwrecks. Queenscliff quickly developed a role as a garrison town and strategic defence post with the installation of three cannons during the Crimean War. Volunteers manned them from 1860 and a fort was constructed in the 1880s amidst scares of a Russian invasion.

Fishermen began to move to Queenscliff in the1860’s and a sizeable fishing fleet soon developed as demand had been greatly increased by the massive influx of immigrants associated with the goldrushes. It has a strong fishing fleet today with a great variety of seafood and venues for you to eat from top restaurants to fish and chips.

Things to See & Do:
Tourist Information - The Queenscliff Tourist Information Centre is located at 55 Hesse St and is open daily, ph: (03) 5258 4843.

Queenscliffe Historical Museum and Start of Historic Buildings Tour - At the corner of Hesse and Hobson Sts is the old post office (1889). Next door is home of the Queenscliffe Historical Centre & Museum which houses about 10 000 items. It is open from 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday, ph: (03) 5258 2511. The museum has information regarding the town's heritage buildings. Over the road, at 46 Hesse St, is the ornate and opulent interior of the Vue Grand, with its tiled floor and marble columns. It was erected in 1881-82 with a front section rebuilt in 1927 after a fire.

Queenscliff Hotel - Walk along Hobson St then turn left into Gellibrand St. To the left, at no.16, is the red-brick Queenscliff Hotel (1887-88). Although restored it has not been modernised and the interior retains its old-world charm.

Foreshore - Turn right into Symonds St and walk along to the so-called 'New Pier' which was built in 1884. Walk south along the beach to the Pilots Jetty. Hot sea baths and a bathing enclosure were once located in the area between the two. Adjacent the Pilots Jetty is the modern operations centre of the Port Phillip Sea Pilots. Walk up Thwaites steps to Shortland Bluff lookout, near the water tower. There are excellent views of Port Phillip - north to the city skyline and east to the Dandenong Ranges, Mt Eliza and Mt Martha. On the other side of the mouth of Port Phillip Bay is Portsea.

Gellibrand Street - Walk away from the coastline until you reach the roadway (Gellibrand St) and proceed to the corner of Gellibrand St and Stokes St. On the north-western corner is the former Lathamstowe Hotel which was built in 1881-83 by Edward Latham, a brewer who founded the Carlton Brewery. Part of Melbourne society, he married Emma Bailleau, the daughter of George Bailleau who built the Ozone Hotel which is located next door at no.42.

The Ozone - Originally known as Bailleau House, was built in 1881-82. It is, by any measure, a superb old hotel with three storeys and a tower that offers great views over the town and Port Phillip Bay. The current name honours a paddlesteamer which carried passengers from Melbourne in the late 19th century when Queenscliff was a highly fashionable resort for the state capital's wealthier classes.
Walk south back along Gellibrand St. Numbers 66 and 68 are the best preserved examples of residences built to house the pilots and boat crews which greeted the ships arriving at Port Phillip. They are amongst the oldest structures in town.

Fort Queenscliff - At the top of Gellibrand Street is the impressive Fort Queenscliff. Today there is a subterranean museum of military memorabilia. Also on the grounds is the 'Black' Lighthouse. It is the only one of its kind in Australia being made from bluestone which was cut in Scotland. The stones were numbered and shipped out to Australia where the lighthouse was erected in 1863. In conjunction with the impressive 'White' Lighthouse (1892) it steered ships through The Rip. Tours are available on weekends at 1.00 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. and the Fort is open daily in school holidays, ph: (03) 5258 1488. Queenscliff Historical Tours also conduct tours of the fort at 1.00 p.m. on weekdays.

Hesse Street - Walk along King St and turn left into Hesse St. At the top end of the road there is a carpark and a lookout offering fine south-westerly ocean views over The Rip - a 3 km stretch of water dividing Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean. It is recognised as one of the most dangerous stretches of water on the whole Australian coastline.

St George's - If you wish to extend your walk, turn left into Hobson St. At Hobson and Mercer are the church and parish hall of St George the Martyr (Church of England). The church, with its steeply-pitched roof, lancet windows, buttressing and stained-glass windows was built from local limestone. It dates from 1863-66 and the square tower from 1877.

Mercer St - Turn left into Mercer St. 'Roseville' at no.42 is a rendered brick house with octagonal observation tower built before 1864 and later used as a holiday house. 'Warringa' at no.80 is a large single-storey Regency residence of cement-rendered limestone blocks built in 1856. At Mercer and King is the Royal Hotel, the first hotel in Queenscliff, which was built in 1854 as the Queenscliff Hotel (it became the Royal Hotel in 1860).

Church of the Holy Trinity - Turn right into King St then right into Stevens St. To the left is the Church of the Holy Trinity (1867). The presbytery and church hall date from 1901-02.

Bellarine Peninsula Railway - At the northern end of town, in Symonds Street, is the railway station (1879) which established an important link between Queenscliff and Melbourne (via Geelong). The station is now home to the 16-km Bellarine Peninsula Railway which is run by the Geelong Steam Preservation Society. It has an outstanding collection of vintage steam locomotives and carriages which take passengers on scenic pleasure trips to either Drysdale or Laker's Siding. Ph: (03) 5258 2069 for bookings and further information. Recorded information regarding train times is available on (1900) 931 452.

Marine Discovery Centre - A delightful attraction, surrounded by old anchors and propellers, is the Queenscliff Marine Discovery Centre. The centre is open weekdays from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. It is advisable to ring first to ensure the centre isn't booked out by a school group. The centre is also open every day in school holidays and on the last sunday of the month from September to May (10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.). It is not necessary to ring first at these times, phl: (03) 5258 3344.

Queenscliff Maritime Centre and Museum - Over the road in Weeroona Parade is the Queenscliff Maritime Centre and Museum with exhibits relating to sea rescue, shipping and other aspects of maritime history, including the 'Queenscliffe' lifeboat (the last of four lifeboats which were continuously stationed at Queenscliff from 1856 to 1976), two rooms of a typical fisherman's cottage, rescue gear, the Coutabout building project, a diving technology display, photographs, rocket launchers, lots of displays of navigational and lighthouse equipment. It is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., ph: (03) 5258 3440.

Harbour Area and Swan Island Golf Course - It is worthwhile taking a stroll down to the boat harbour, slipway and Fisherman's Wharf (off Wharf St and Harbour St) where you can observe the colourful fishing fleet at work. A bridge leads over to Swan Island Golf Course.

Queenscliff-Sorrento Ferries - Peninsula Searoad Transport offers a car-and-passenger ferry service to Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula. It carries up to 80 vehicles and 700 passengers per trip, which lasts 40 minutes. The Sorrento Ferry Co. carries passengers to and from Sorrento and Queenscliff with a stop in-between at Portsea. It also takes time out for some dolphin-watching.

Horse-Drawn Coaches - For a nostalgic look around historic Queenscliff, consider taking a tour on board a horse-drawn omnibus. Queenscliff Horse-Drawn Coaches operate daily from December to April. From May to November they operate on weekends only except in school holidays when the service is again daily. It is $3 from the ferry terminal to the town centre ($5 return) or $5 for a town tour. Ph: 0417 108 338

Historic Tours and Bike Hire - Queenscliff Historical Tours and Bike Hire conduct regular daily bus tours of Queenscliff. ph: (03) 5258 3403 or 0410 512 472.

Moped Hire - Mopeds can be hired, without a licence, from Geelong and Bellarine Mopeds, ph: (03) 5258 4796 or 0414 581 264.

Fishing and Fishing Charters - Big Red Fishing Charters are located at 27 Ward Rd. They have a 7.2-m aluminium cruiser (max. 8 people) available for half-day and full-day trips, ph: (03) 5258 4647.
Kyena Fishing Charters offer charter trips for groups and clubs all year round. They also run fishing trips daily at 7.30 a.m. from 27 December to 30 January. ph: (03) 5258 1424.
Queenscliff Fishing Adventures offer four-hour budget fishing trips ($30 per person) at 8.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. daily from Queenscliff Boat Harbour. They also run sport fishing trips ($75 per person for 5 hours) at 7.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. daily and shark fishing ($135 per person for 10 hours) at 8.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. daily. ph: (03) 5258 2802.
Impulse Charters can be reached on (03) 5258 3739.

Dolphin Swims - Sea-All Charters offer cruises of the off-shore waters, taking in dolphin swims, a seal colony, a gannet rookery and Point Nepean. They depart from Queenscliff Harbour, ph: (03) 5258 3889 or 0411 873 777.

Diving - The Bellarine Peninsula is a popular snorkelling and diving area. The Queenscliff Dive Centre at 37 Learmonth St runs diving trips and courses and hires out equipment, ph: (03) 5258 1188.