Historical Walking Tour of Port Fairy
Looking for things to do in Port Fairy? Start with its history. Whalers and sealers worked this coast in the 1830s, and in 1843 James Atkinson took title to land west of the Moyne River and laid out a town he called Belfast, which the register records as renamed Port Fairy in 1885. Timber cottages from the 1840s, an 1857 bluestone bank, a volunteer lifeboat and a coastal fort survive from the port years. This self-guided walk links 12 historic places, from the Bank of Australasia to Griffiths Island, each with a short audio story in the Sitesy app.
Opens in your browser. No download and no account needed.
What is Port Fairy known for?
Port Fairy is known for its well-preserved port-era buildings, from timber cottages of the 1840s to an 1857 bluestone bank. Captain John Mills House is one of the oldest surviving timber structures in Victoria, and 269 Norfolk Island pines line the streets laid out in James Atkinson's 1843 town plan of Belfast. The town is also known for its maritime heritage: the 1857 lifeboat and its boat shed, Battery Hill's fort of 1886 and 1887, and the 1859 lighthouse on Griffiths Island at the mouth of the Moyne River, where bay whalers once worked.
The route: 12 historic places in Port Fairy
Start at Former Bank of Australasia, Sackville Street. Tap a stop to see it on the map.
Pins are numbered in walking order; lines join them directly, not along streets. Walking directions in Google Maps
- 1
Former Bank of Australasia
Built in 1857 by contractors McKenzie and McGowan to a design by Nathaniel Billing, this two-storey bank and residence is made of rough-faced basalt laid in half courses, with bracketed eaves, a slate roof and emphasised quoins. The register describes a fusion of Georgian and Italianate architecture, and ranks it as one of the finest stone bank buildings in Victoria and an important early work for its architect. It stood at the heart of commerce in the early port settlement. VHR H0749.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 2
Caledonian Hotel
Scottish-born David McLaws leased this corner in 1844 and is recorded as licensee that year. The hotel was built in stages, and the register says the attic on the James Street side was left unfinished because workmen reputedly left for the goldfields. McLaws bought the acre in 1850 for 200 pounds. The Caledonian became known for horse sales, including those of Thomas Browne, later the author Rolf Boldrewood, and hosted racing, rifle and rowing club meetings. It remains central to town life and still hosts live music. VHR H0247.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 3
Norfolk Island Pine Avenues
Some 269 Norfolk Island pines line the wide streets of Port Fairy and, in the register's words, define James Atkinson's 1843 town plan of Belfast. In 1852 the merchant Michael Connolly bought six seedlings from Norfolk Island and two grew in his garden, probably encouraging others to plant the species. The first public planting was ten trees at the Presbyterian Church in William Street in 1869. Councillors, mayors and school children followed, and the pines gave the bare, windswept town shelter and shade. This pin marks one point on the avenues. VHR H2239.
Seen from the street
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 4
Motts Cottage
The oldest part of this cottage, a two-room timber section, may date from around the 1845 survey of the town or even earlier. A two-storey stone section was added before 1856, and a later owner, the stonemason John Hooper, or his daughter, ran it as a boarding house. It takes its name from Sarah Jane Mott, who lived here from 1918 to 1944. The National Trust bought it in 1973 and opened it as a house museum in 1977. The register notes that a legend of whalers living here is unsubstantiated. VHR H0254.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 5
Seafield
James Atkinson leased this block to John Coates in October 1852, on condition that a house worth 75 pounds be built. The timber section probably dates from then, with some prefabricated parts and deep kauri weatherboards. Captain Lewis Grant, a merchant sea captain turned lighterman and coal merchant, rented it from December 1852, bought it in 1855 and added a limestone office in 1856. That wing has an unusual plaster ceiling rose moulded to imitate rope. The Shire of Belfast leased the house from 1863, and in 1888 to 1890 it served as doctor's rooms. VHR H2063.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 6
Captain John Mills House
One of the oldest surviving timber structures in Victoria, this house was built in three stages: a middle section probably from late 1843, a rear section before 1848 and a prefabricated front section in 1853, with a sheet iron roof and cast iron columns from Sydney. Brothers John and Charles Mills began as sealers and whalers before becoming maritime traders and farmers. John was Port Fairy's harbour master from 1853 to 1871. The house was presented as a house museum in 1984 and was bought by the State for its significance. VHR H0253.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 7
Port Fairy Court House
Built in 1859 of local bluestone, the court house is a Victorian Free Classical building with an arched facade and a gabled roof. It was designed for a circuit court on the same plan as those at Pleasant Creek (Stawell), Hamilton and Creswick. Alterations in 1864 and in 1873 and 1874 added a separate judge's room and a barrister's room as needs grew. The former court house now holds the Port Fairy Historical Society's collection. VHR H1480.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 8
Merrijig Inn
William Middleton leased this corner from Atkinson in September 1845 and began building. It was called the Royal Merrijig Inn to tell it apart from an earlier Merrijig Inn near the river, and it was operating by 1847. Sited opposite the jetty, it became headquarters of the coastal whalers in the 1840s and later of the powerful merchant William Rutledge. After a reported fire in 1850 it closed in 1852. The government then took the lease, and courts sat here until 1860, with police barracks and offices in the later addition. VHR H0248.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 9
Former Customs Shed
Built around 1863 on a bluestone base to receive goods from ships for spirit gauging and duty assessment, the shed was designed by the Public Works Department. A tramway linked it by bridge to the pier on East Beach until river works in 1875 required the bridge to go and the shed to be re-erected on the new wharf. Later fishermen dried sails and mended nets here, and a rail spur in 1892 forced another move. The register calls it the only known gauging shed in Victoria. VHR H2046.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 10
Lifeboat Station
Port Fairy's lifeboat was built at Williamstown in 1857, one of three the Victorian Government had made after 162 lives were lost to shipwreck on the coast between 1835 and 1858. It is 30 feet of kauri planking laid diagonally, rowed by ten oarsmen and able to carry 24 survivors. The 1861 boat shed first stood on the East Beach jetty and was moved to the river bank after about 1873. A bluestone rocket house followed in 1886. The register calls the group an exceptional, remarkably intact collection. VHR H1431.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 11
Battery Hill guns and emplacements
Battery Hill was an early lookout, with a signal flagstaff from 1861, and became a base for the Belfast Volunteer Corps formed in 1866. The bluestone and concrete fort seen today was built by the Public Works Department in 1886 and 1887, with two guns installed in 1887, amid fears of a Russian attack. The register notes the guns were used only for training and civic celebrations such as the 1911 coronation of George V, and never fired in defence. Older guns once placed around town were returned to the battery in 1984. VHR H1504.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 12
Griffiths Island
Also known as Griffiths Island Lighthouse
Griffiths Island sits at the mouth of the Moyne River and was once three separate islands. A bay whaling station operated here in the mid-1830s, and its buildings were later reused by Flora Rachel Wallace Dunlop as a house, farm, schoolroom and dormitory for young Aboriginal people, until 1854. A circular basalt lighthouse, designed by the Public Works Department and built by McKenzie and McGowan, first showed its light on 31 August 1859. It stands at sea level, nearly eleven metres above high water. VHR H1659.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
The shipwreck coast and the Port Fairy lifeboat
The register records that 95 ships and 162 lives were lost to shipwreck on the Victorian coast between 1835 and 1858, and that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution sent plans to the colonies in 1857. The Victorian Government had three lifeboats built at Williamstown, and Port Fairy's arrived in September 1857. A boat shed was built for it in 1861 and a bluestone rocket house, for line-throwing rescue gear, in 1886. The rescue equipment has stayed on site since the station's working days, and the register calls it a rare and remarkably intact reminder of volunteer crews in the days of sail.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
Whalers, sealers and the founding of Belfast
Whalers and sealers working out of Launceston visited the coast around Port Fairy and Portland through the 1830s, setting up camps and huts. John Griffiths ran a bay whaling station on Griffiths Island. That informal settlement changed in 1843 when James Atkinson acquired title to 5120 acres west of the Moyne River under special survey provisions. He had surveyed streets and allotments from 1841, called the town Belfast, and quickly set up leases to raise a return and draw settlers. The Caledonian Hotel, first licensed in 1844, is one of the buildings that grew from those leases.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
How the walk works
Open it from this page
Tap Start this walk free. The walk opens in the Sitesy app in your browser, with the route and every stop ready.
Walk and listen
Each stop's story plays as you arrive, with directions to the next one. Pause for a coffee whenever you like.
Save it before you go
Save the walk's audio to your phone at home, so the stories play even where the signal drops.
Free to start
- This walk: every stop is free to hear. Walk stops never use up your free stories.
- 5 free stories a day about wherever you are, at home or away.
- 1 free custom walk a week, built around your time and interests.
7 days of unlimited stories and walks. One payment, no subscription.
Unlimited, wherever you are. Cancel any time.
Both plans also let you save whole areas to listen offline. You only sign in (with Google) if you buy a plan. Prices in Australian dollars.
Before you go
More walks nearby
Questions
What are the best things to do in Port Fairy's town centre?
Walk Sackville, Gipps and Campbell Streets down to the Moyne River. This tour links 12 historic places, including the Caledonian Hotel, Motts Cottage, the Lifeboat Station and Griffiths Island.
What is the history of Port Fairy in brief?
Whalers and sealers visited the coast in the 1830s, and James Atkinson acquired title to 5120 acres west of the Moyne River in 1843 and laid out the town of Belfast. It was a thriving trading port in the 1850s and 1860s, and the railway arrived in 1890.
What is Port Fairy known for?
Port Fairy is known for its early buildings, including Captain John Mills House, one of the oldest surviving timber structures in Victoria, for its avenues of Norfolk Island pines, and for its maritime heritage of lifeboat, fort and lighthouse.
What is the oldest house in Port Fairy?
The register says the earliest part of Captain John Mills House was probably built in late 1843, and describes it as one of the oldest surviving timber structures in Victoria.
How long does the Port Fairy walking tour take?
About 80 minutes over roughly 2.2 km, including time to stop and listen at each place.
Do I need mobile data?
No. Load the tour in the Sitesy app before you go and it's saved for offline use.
Is the Port Fairy walking tour free?
Yes. Open it in the Sitesy app and every stop on this walk is free to hear, with no account needed. Free listeners also get 5 stories a day about wherever they are and 1 custom walk a week. The Trip pass (A$7.99 for 7 days) and Sitesy Plus (A$8.99 a month) unlock unlimited stories and walks.
Page last updated 23 October 2026.