Great Ocean Road from Torquay to Allansford as Australia’s coastal memorial

Along the surf coast from Torquay, Great Ocean Road traces rugged cliffs and beaches while serving as a memorial route shaped in the early twentieth century.

South-west of Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road leaves Torquay and follows Victoria’s coast as a long ribbon of tarmac above surf beaches, cliffs and headlands. Conceived and built in the decades after the First World War, it links Torquay with Allansford near Warrnambool and carries the dual identity of coastal highway and memorial route.

A coastal drive carved between Torquay and Allansford

The Great Ocean Road is a declared route along Victoria’s south-west coast, running between Torquay in the east and its junction with the Princes Highway near Allansford in the west.Great Ocean Road was completed in 1932 and has since become a recognised coastal touring corridor.The road stretches more than 240 km between Torquay and Allansford across several shires.

From Torquay the Surf Coast Highway transitions into the Great Ocean Road near Bell Street, marking the formal starting point of the journey along the Surf Coast towards Anglesea, Aireys Inlet and Lorne.VicRoads redeclared the road in 2004 as beginning at the Surf Coast Highway in Torquay and ending at the Princes Highway east of Allansford, confirming its full extent as a single named coastal drive.

A memorial road built by returned servicemen

The Great Ocean Road is formally recognised as a war memorial, dedicated to men and women from Victoria who served and died in the First World War.The route is listed on the Australian National Heritage List as a memorial to First World War servicemen and women and is described as a lasting reminder of their service and sacrifice.The road’s length is recorded as around 242 km in heritage and archival material, making the entire route a linear commemorative structure.

Construction began in 1919 as part of a repatriation employment programme for returned soldiers and sailors from the Australian forces.Over 3,000 returned servicemen worked on the project between 1919 and 1932, often using pick, shovel and wheelbarrow along steep hillsides above the Southern Ocean.Major William McCormack of the Country Roads Board oversaw the design and construction as part of a large repatriation works programme, giving the road its alignment through Torquay, the Otway ranges and the coastal settlements west of Cape Otway.

Torquay and the surf coast gateway

Torquay marks the eastern gateway to the route, where the inland highways meet the coast and where the first signed sections of the drive begin.Heritage documentation describes the road passing from Torquay through Anglesea and Aireys Inlet to Apollo Bay and beyond, tying a string of surf beaches, low headlands and bush-covered slopes into one continuous coastal corridor.

Along the surf coast the carriageway alternates between sections close to the shoreline and stretches slightly inland, with views across sandy bays, reefs and the open ocean. Inland from the asphalt, low scrub, eucalypt stands and farmland form the backdrop as the route swings towards the forested hills of the Otway ranges. The landscape shifts west of Apollo Bay, where the road approaches higher cliffs and the limestone plateaux behind Port Campbell and Peterborough, before turning inland again towards Allansford.

Visiting Great Ocean Road: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The eastern end of the route lies at Torquay on Victoria’s surf coast, reached by road from Melbourne and Geelong; from Torquay it continues towards Anglesea and Lorne.
• The carriageway includes bends, cuttings and sections above cliffs where the terrain falls steeply towards beaches and reefs, and several approaches involve walking from parking areas to coastal lookouts.
• Further west the road passes forested hills in the Otway ranges and limestone country near Port Campbell and Peterborough, where short paths lead from lay-bys to vantage points over the coast.
• The official language is English and the currency is the Australian dollar.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Great Ocean Road

Where is Great Ocean Road and where does it begin?

Great Ocean Road is a coastal route in Victoria, Australia, beginning at Torquay on the surf coast and continuing west to its junction with the Princes Highway near Allansford.

What can travellers expect on a visit to Great Ocean Road?

Travellers encounter a sealed road with bends and coastal cuttings, views over surf beaches, cliffs and forests, and short paths from stopping places to viewpoints along the way.

What makes Great Ocean Road distinctive among coastal routes?

Great Ocean Road combines an extended coastal drive between Torquay and Allansford with a formal role as a First World War memorial built by thousands of returned servicemen in the early twentieth century.