Editing Great Ocean Road (section)

==History==
[[File:Island Archway, Great Ocean Rd, Victoria, Australia - Nov 08.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The former [[Island Archway]] off the [[Loch Ard Gorge]], which collapsed in 2009.]]

The Great Ocean Road was first planned towards the end of [[World War I]], when chairman of the [[Country Roads Board]], [[William Calder (engineer)|William Calder]], asked the State War Council for funds to be provided for returned soldiers to work on roads in sparsely populated areas in the Western District.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070529b.htm|title=Calder, William (1860–1928)|access-date=24 June 2010|work=adbonline.anu.edu.au|publisher=Australian National University|author=Southern, Roger J.|chapter=William Calder (1860–1928) |issn=1833-7538}}</ref> At the time, the rugged south-west coast of Victoria was accessible only by sea or rough bush track.<ref name="50years">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33735482/great_ocean_road_turns_50/|title=Great Ocean Road turns 50|author=Downes|first=Stephen|date=26 November 1982|newspaper=The Age|access-date=29 July 2019|page=11}}</ref> It was envisaged that the road would connect isolated settlements on the coast, and become a vital transport link for the timber industry and tourism.<ref name="moment">{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/canwehelp/txt/s2656311.htm |title=Moment in Time – Episode 27 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=26 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204034935/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/canwehelp/txt/s2656311.htm |archive-date=4 February 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Surveying of the road, tentatively titled the ''South Coast Road'', started in 1918. It was suggested that it run from [[Barwon Heads]] in the east, follow the coast west around [[Cape Otway]], and end near Warrnambool. In 1918, the Great Ocean Road Trust was formed as a private company, under the helm of president [[Howard Hitchcock]]. The company managed to secure £81,000 in capital from private subscriptions and borrowing, with Hitchcock himself contributing £3000. The money was to be repaid by charging drivers a toll until the debt was cleared, and the road would then be gifted to the state.<ref name="hitchcock">{{cite book |last1=Wynd |first1=Ian |title=Howard Hitchcock (1866–1932) |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hitchcock-howard-6685 |website=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=Australian National University |access-date=2023-10-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=H44TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OZYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3484,4884894&dq=great+ocean+road&hl=en |title=The Great Ocean Road |work=[[The Sydney Mail]] |access-date=25 June 2010 |date=24 April 1935}}</ref>

===Construction===
[[File:Great ocean road.jpg|thumb|right|Great Ocean Road]]

Construction began on 19 September 1919. Approximately 3,000 [[Digger (soldier)|returned servicemen]] worked on the project, which was a war memorial for servicemen killed in World War I. The advance survey team progressed through dense scrub at a rate of approximately three kilometres a month. Construction was mostly by hand, using explosives, pick and shovel, wheelbarrows, and some small machinery,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goggin |first1=Eleanor |title=Surfing the vineyards on the Ocean Road |url=http://www.independent.ie/travel/travel-destinations/surfing-the-vineyards-on-the-ocean-road-2200613.html |access-date=2022-08-15 |work=Sunday Independent |publisher=Independent.ie |date=2010-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604010555/http://www.independent.ie/travel/travel-destinations/surfing-the-vineyards-on-the-ocean-road-2200613.html |archive-date=2010-06-04}}</ref><ref name="moment" /> and was at times perilous, with several workers being killed. The final sections, along steep coastal cliffs, were the most difficult to work on. Anecdotal evidence from [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] archives in 1982 suggested workers would rest [[detonator]]s on their knees during travel, because it gave the explosives the softest ride.<ref name="moment" />

Workers were paid 10 [[shillings]] and [[sixpence (Australian)|sixpence]] for an eight-hour day, also working a half-day on Saturdays. They were accommodated in tents, and were provided with meals in a communal dining marquee. Food cost up to 10 shillings a week. Despite the isolation of the camps, the workers had access to a piano, gramophone, games, newspapers and magazines.

In 1924, the [[steamship|coastal steamer]] ''Casino'' became stranded near Cape Patton, after having hit a reef at Point Hawdon, near the [[Grey River (Victoria)|Grey River]]. Legend has it that 500 barrels of beer and 120 cases of spirits were jettisoned and that road workers salvaged them, resulting in an unscheduled two-week-long drinking break. However, [[Museums Victoria]] notes only that most of the cargo, largely composed of [[Christmas]] goods, was dumped into the sea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://victoriancollections.net.au:8080/items/521606eb19403a17c4ba1182|title=Photograph – Victorian Collections|website=victoriancollections.net.au|access-date=2019-05-14}}{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ''[[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, Victoria|Wye River]], or Lorne."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/31574169/1924_wreck_of_casino/ |title=S. Casino Still Aground: Position Precarious |date=23 October 1924 |via=Newspapers.com |work=The Age |language=en |access-date=2019-05-14}}{{free access}}</ref>
===Completion and early use===
[[File:Hitchcock GOR.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Howard Hitchcock|Hitchcock]] Memorial at Mount Defiance]]
[[File:Great ocean road toll tickets.jpg|thumb|Tickets for the toll fee, circa 1930]]

On 18 March 1922, the section from Eastern View to [[Lorne, Victoria|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 help recoup construction costs. The charge, payable at the Eastern View toll gate, was two [[shillings]] for motor cars, and 10 shillings for wagons with more than two horses.<ref name="75anniversary" />

In November 1932, the section from Lorne to [[Apollo Bay]] was finished, bringing the road to completion. It was officially opened by Victoria's Lieutenant-Governor [[Sir William Irvine]], during a ceremony near the Grand Pacific Hotel at [[Lorne, Victoria|Lorne]], and the road has subsequently been acknowledged as the world's largest war memorial.<ref name="geelong">{{cite web |url=http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2010/06/09/180781_opinion.html |last=Grant |first=Roger |title=Extra Tiger flights make Geelong a must-see |date=9 June 2010 |access-date=9 June 2010 |work=geelongadvertiser.com.au}}</ref> 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".<ref name="75anniversary">{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/great-anniversary-at-75/2007/04/09/1175971018222.html |title=Road's still great, 75 years on |last=Rood |first=David |date=10 April 2007 |access-date=26 June 2010 |work=The Age}}</ref> 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.<ref name="hitchcock" /> A memorial in his name was constructed on the road at Mount Defiance, near Lorne, and he is generally considered to be the Father of the Road.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/hard-road-to-honouring-diggers/story-e6frg6nf-1111113340576 |title=Hard road to honouring Diggers |last=Davis |first=Michael |date=14 April 2007 |newspaper=The Australian |access-date=26 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501164049/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/hard-road-to-honouring-diggers/story-e6frg6nf-1111113340576 |archive-date=1 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{quote box|quote=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|source={{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/great-anniversary-at-75/2007/04/09/1175971018222.html |title=Road's still great, 75 years on |last=Rood |first=David |date=10 April 2007 |access-date=26 June 2010 |newspaper=The Age}}|width=30em|border=1px|align=right|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|fontsize=85%|salign=right}}

In its original state, the road was considered a formidable drive, comfortably accommodating only a single vehicle at a time. Areas with sheer cliffs were the most hazardous, with only few places where drivers could 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.<ref name="50years" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31575432/double_lines_needed_on_ocean_road/ |title=Double Lines Needed on Ocean Road |date=10 June 1961 |via=Newspapers.com |work=The Age |access-date=21 June 2019}}{{Free access}}</ref> On 2 October 1936, the road was handed to the State Government, with the deed for the road being presented to the Victorian Premier at a ceremony at the Cathedral Rock toll gate. Tolls were removed at that time.<ref name="75anniversary" />

In 1939, following the death of the chairman of the [[Country Roads Board]], W.T.B. McCormick, who was also honorary engineer for the Great Ocean Road Trust, it was decided to build a memorial arch in his honour, across the road at Eastern View.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1939-06-06 |title=Memorial Arch at Eastern View |page=14 |work=The Age (Melbourne) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205636596 |access-date=2020-05-03 |via=Trove}}</ref> The arch was opened 4 November 1939, and 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1939-11-04 |title=Ocean Road Pioneer |page=36 |work=The Age (Melbourne)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205585876|access-date=2020-05-03 |via=Trove}}</ref> The arch was rebuilt in 1973, and again in 1983, after being destroyed in the [[Ash Wednesday bushfires]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch |url=https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww1/display/31148-great-ocean-road-memorial-arch |website=monumentaustralia.org.au |access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref>

In 1962, the Tourist Development Authority deemed the road to be "one of the world's great scenic roads".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=Xl8RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jJYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4214,2226082&dq=great+ocean+road&hl=en|title=Great Ocean Road in World Class|newspaper=The Age|date=15 August 1962|page=4|access-date=25 June 2010}}</ref> Despite improvements, the road was still considered a challenging drive, and the [[Victorian Police]] motor school was using it for training around 1966.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=J6EpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7-cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5301,6321932&dq=great+ocean+road&hl=en|title=Tighter averages on poor roads in tough run|access-date=29 June 2010|date=4 December 1966|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

Over its life, the Great Ocean Road has been susceptible to natural elements. In 1960, the section at [[Princetown, Victoria|Princetown]] was partially washed away by water during storms.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=RxETAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tqkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6794,3596374&dq=great+ocean+road&hl=en|title=Washaways|newspaper=The Age|access-date=29 June 2010|date=23 April 1960}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> There were landslides on 11 August 1964,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=Tx0TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=15YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4686,2044336&dq=gret+ocean+road&hl=en|date=12 August 1964|access-date=25 June 2010|work=The Age|title=Landslide Closes Great Ocean Road}}</ref> and 1971, both closing sections of the road near Lorne.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=VpAQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=r5ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5915,1903737&dq=great+ocean+road&hl=en |title=Ocean Road open – but watch out |newspaper=The Age |access-date=29 June 2010 |date=9 December 1971}}</ref> Because of the terrain surrounding the road, it was also closed due to [[Bushfires in Australia|bushfires]] in 1962<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31575595/fire_survey_finds_another_200_homes/|title=Fire Survey Finds Another 200 Homes were Lost |date=20 January 1962 |via=Newspapers.com |work=The Age |access-date=21 June 2019}}{{Free access}}</ref> and 1964, particularly in areas with nearby campsites.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=TKIQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pJUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6068,800843&dq=great+ocean+road&hl=en |title=Great Ocean Road Closed |date=8 January 1964 |access-date=29 June 2010 |newspaper=The Age}}</ref> In January 2011, a section of a cutting collapsed due to heavy rain.

In 2011, the road was added to the [[Australian National Heritage List]].<ref name=ANHL>{{cite news|last=Johnston|first=Matt|title=Great Ocean Road added to Australia's national heritage lis|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/great-ocean-road-added-to-australias-national-heritage-list/story-fn7x8me2-1226035330649|access-date=7 April 2011|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=7 April 2011}}</ref>

===Road classification===
Great Ocean Road was signed as State Route 100 between Torquay and Allansford in 1986; with Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was updated to route B100 in 1996.<ref name="VR97AR">{{cite news |url=https://vgls.sdp.sirsidynix.net.au/client/search/asset/1292553 |title=VicRoads Annual Report 1996-97 |newspaper=[[VicRoads]] |location=Melbourne |date=27 August 1997 |page=24 |publisher=Victorian Government Library Service}}</ref>

The passing of the ''Road Management Act 2004''<ref name="roadact">{{cite web |author=State Government of Victoria |title=Road Management Act 2004 |url=https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-08/04-12aa062%20authorised.pdf |publisher=Government of Victoria |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018233332/https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-08/04-12aa062%20authorised.pdf |archivedate=18 October 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=19 October 2021 }}</ref> granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to [[VicRoads]]: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as '''Great Ocean Road''' (Arterial #4890), beginning at [[Surf Coast Highway]] at [[Torquay, Victoria|Torquay]] and ending at [[Princes Highway]] in [[Allansford, Victoria|Allansford]].<ref name="vicreg">{{cite web |author=VicRoads |title=VicRoads – Register of Public Roads (Part A) 2015 |url=https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/-/media/files/documents/utilities/about-vr/acts-and-regulations/register-of-public-roads---part-a-v-2015.ashx?la=en&hash=116BE6FB86F506FF0B5BAFBEA45FCD6C |format=PDF |publisher=Government of Victoria |pages=944–5 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501042521/https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/-/media/files/documents/utilities/about-vr/acts-and-regulations/register-of-public-roads---part-a-v-2015.ashx?la=en&hash=116BE6FB86F506FF0B5BAFBEA45FCD6C |archivedate=1 May 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=19 October 2021 }}</ref>

===Great Ocean Walk===
In 2004, the [[Great Ocean Walk]] opened, connecting 104&nbsp;km of walking trails that follow the coastline near the Great Ocean Road, stretching from [[Apollo Bay]] to the [[The Twelve Apostles, Victoria|12 Apostles]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Great Ocean Walk|url=http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Great-Ocean-Road/Activities-and-attractions/Outdoor-activities/Walking-and-hiking/Great-Ocean-Walk.aspx|work=Visit Victoria|publisher=Tourism Victoria|access-date=22 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227024006/http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Great-Ocean-Road/Activities-and-attractions/Outdoor-activities/Walking-and-hiking/Great-Ocean-Walk.aspx|archive-date=27 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.greatoceanwalk.com.au/|title=The Great Ocean Walk, Great Ocean Road and Region, Victoria, AustraliaGreat Ocean Walk|website=greatoceanwalk.com.au|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-08-06|archive-date=28 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828042837/https://www.greatoceanwalk.com.au/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/great-otway-national-park/things-to-do/great-ocean-walk|title=Great Ocean Walk|last=Victoria|first=Parks|date=8 August 2019|website=parkweb.vic.gov.au|publisher=Victorian Government, Parks Victoria|language=en|access-date=2019-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606130431/https://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/great-otway-national-park/things-to-do/great-ocean-walk|archive-date=6 June 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>