Port Fairy

Port Fairy is one of those delightful towns where you feel as though if you stay another day you suddenly find a whole extra world of things to see and do. So do not plan your holiday for a too short period.

Beautiful Port Fairy, one of Victoria's oldest ports, has retained much of its colonial architecture. Visitors can discover more about this charming Shipwreck Coast town by wandering its historic streets and around the harbor on the Moyne River where the local fishing fleet shelters.

The town has safe swimming beaches, excellent walks and boasts a thriving arts and crafts community, with many galleries and studios to visit. Port Fairy's waterfront looks like a postcard, with the Moyne River's still waters reflecting images of the fishing fleet, pleasure craft, lovely stone buildings and towering Norfolk pines.

A scenic 400-meter walk to the eastern tip of Griffiths Island leads to the historic Port Fairy lighthouse, erected in 1859. The world-famous Port Fairy Folk Festival twangs into life over the Labour Day weekend in March, drawing thousands of people from all parts of the globe.

As early as 1810 Captain James Wishart, a sealer working the southern coast, anchored at Port Fairy. He explored the Moyne River and revisited the area regularly. By the mid-1820s the 'harbor' was known as Port Fairy, probably after Wishart's cutter 'The Fairy'.