Town Profile: Queenscliff<\/p>\n
The size of Queenscliff is approximately 3.3 square kilometres and has seven parks covering nearly 22.4 per cent of total area.<\/p>\n
The population of Queenscliff in 2011 was 1,417 people and by the 2016 Census the population was 1,328, showing a population decline of 6.3 per cent in the area during that time.<\/p>\n
Queenscliff is a coastal settlement steeped in history with any magnificent buildings and structures that tell a tale of yesteryear.
\nThe entrenched locals are very protective of their independence and have staunchly defended attempts to amalgamate the borough into the clasps of the City of Greater Geelong.<\/p>\n
Queenscliff itself was originally named Shortland\u2019s Bluff, a prominent headland named after Peter Shortland who was a member of a maritime survey party (1836).<\/p>\n
A light station was constructed on the headland in 1842 and a township was surveyed in 1853.
\nIts post office (1853) was named Shortland\u2019s Bluff, but changed to Queenscliff in 1854, that being the official name bestowed as a compliment to Queen Victoria.<\/p>\n
A school, a church and a hotel opened in 1854, and Queenscliff was connected by telegraph to Melbourne in 1855.<\/p>\n
In 1862-63 three definitive guns were placed at Queenscliff as part of elaborate fortifications to protect the entrance to Port Phillip Bay.<\/p>\n
All came to fruition in the late 1880s, the main stages being a railway from Geelong for troop movements (1879), two gun batteries at Queenscliff (1880) and completion of fortifications at Queenscliff and on the other side of the bay\u2019s entrance (Point Nepean and Fort Franklin, Portsea) in the late 1880s.<\/p>\n
A borough council was formed in 1863 and within five years there were substantially built Anglican, Catholic and Wesleyan churches.
\nThe town jetty was lengthened in 1860, a local fishing industry grew during the coming decade and the first excursion boats brought more visitors to Queenscliff\u2019s five hotels.<\/p>\n
It was the railway, however, which brought many more holidaymakers, and the excursion boats which came into their own in the 1880s.
\nVisitors were welcomed by increasingly opulent hotels, rococo triple-storeyed buildings that held 150 or more guests.
\nBy federation, Queenscliff had reached near completion, except for conveniences such as state-supplied electricity (1923) and sewerage (1970s).<\/p>\n
World War II confirmed the end of fortified defences and the site became the Australian Staff College.
\nCoreLogic data indicates the predominant age group in Queenscliff is 60-69 years with households in Queenscliff being primarily childless couples and are likely to be repaying $1,000 \u2013 $1,399 per month on mortgage repayments, and in general, people in Queenscliff work in a professional occupation.
\nIn 2011, 73.5 per cent of the homes in Queenscliff were owner-occupied compared with 78.7 per cent in 2016.<\/p>\n